Wings
by Yuki
Summary: He had dreamt of feathers, Touya realized with a start. A million, white, glowing feathers drifting overhead, surrounding him, swallowing him whole until he was smothered by them and then he woke up...Crossesover with TRC
1. Chapter 1

**Wings**

By Yuki

**Author's note**: Standard disclaimers apply. I still am, currently on some sort of hiatus so if there's anyone here who used to read my un-updated fanfics, I grovel at your feet and beg for mercy, forgiveness and understanding. I will, eventually, hopefully, go back to writing. This fic just won't leave me alone and so, I had to write it.

It crosses over with Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. I posted it here because I wasn't quite sure where it belonged, maybe I should post it at TRC too? Please forgive any OCC-ness.

I need a beta-reader.

And now, on with the fic.

**

* * *

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**Wings**

By Yuki

Touya slowly, lazily opened his eyes. He could see faint vapor yellow light streaming through the half-closed blinds that covered the windows of his bedroom.

Morning?

He glanced at the clock near his bedside table. 2:53 AM

He blinked, his hand rubbing his jaws, wiping the corner of his mouth, trying to swallow down the bitter taste clinging at the back of his throat. He turned his head and found several slanted lines falling across his bed and on his outstretched arms. He started at the stripes: dark (his skin), light, dark, light, dark…

Patterns. Little stripes. Ripples.

The lamppost from outside threw more yellow lights against the floorboard and the ceiling. He very grudgingly turned to his side, shoving his face into the pillow and growling with frustration. He should be getting a few more hours of sleep as he didn't have any classes for today and wasn't scheduled to report for work on the local ice cream shop but he didn't think he could go back to sleep even if he tried.

Touya frowned, flinging the pillow off his face. It was so quite inside his room – the whole house actually – he could hear himself thinking. And he was thinking of his dream, remembering very little detail about it but feeling it's unknowable, unnamable remnants sticking on his skin.

Wings. He dreamt of wings.

He frowned, finally pushing himself up from the bed. He stood up, straight towards one the windows. He pulled the blind with a snap and watched as the sudden movement disturbed a couple of doves that were probably sleeping by the windowsill. They flew up into the darkened sky, wings flapping noisily, breaking the silence.

No, not wings – feathers.

He had dreamt of feathers, Touya realized with a start. A million, white, glowing feathers drifting overhead, surrounding him, swallowing him whole until he was smothered by them and then he woke up.

For some strange reason, the feathers reminded him of his sister.

* * *

They stumbled upon this new world, realizing almost instantly that it was just the two of them.

The sky was inky-blue, almost morning but not quite, darkness was still lingering overhead. For a brief moment, they stared at each other, unsure of what to do, where they were. The stillness made the princess seem so much smaller, more vulnerable. Without Kurogane-san's annoyed muttering, or Fai-san's endlessly happy chattering or Mokona excitedly fluttering about, Syaoran could clearly sense the hesitation in Sakura – the initial surprise and fear that was always there whenever they arrived at a new world.

Looking at her, he could clearly see the worry in Sakura's eyes. He took a step forward and wordlessly offered his hand. Sakura accepted, squeezing his fingers gently.

"Let's wait." Syaoran calmly said, offering a small reassuring smile that Sakura very gladly returned. They waited to be found but then after some time, when it became apparent that no one was coming, they gave up on waiting. They tried searching for their companions instead but it was no use. They had been separated again, no idea where the others were, if they were safe, or unhurt.

Looking around, Syoran was quick to take mental notes, straining to remember everything, every little detail, any information that might help them, if and when help was needed, after all, it was all up to him now, with Fai, Kurogane and Mokono missing, he must make sure that nothing troublesome would happen .

They landed at an amusement park of some sort. The place wasn't meant to be empty, Syaoran could tell, and in the dead hours of the early morning, the silence was eerie, the blue-black shadows jumping and slithering around them made the rides look grotesque, forbidding.

The princess however took an immediate liking to a giant slide, which looked to Syaoran, to be a bird of some sort. ('_Kawaii!'_ The Princess gushed, her eyes twinkling merrily).

They had decided to search for an abandoned building where they could stay until the morning, when they can freely roam the city, but looking for an empty building proved difficult. The town, in the morning at least, seemed to be bursting with life, there were no boarded up stores, the streets were clean, the houses looked nice and there was a sense of security radiating from the place.

As the hours went by, Sakura started yawning more frequently, rubbing her eyes and leaning heavily against his shoulder, stumbling once in awhile, only to assure her that she was fine.

"Honestly, Syaoran-kun, I'm alright, just a little tired, but I'm strong, see?" She flexed her arms and smiled at him brilliantly, but Syaoran could see the weariness in her eyes, in the way she moved. As they went on, he found himself feeling increasingly annoyed with himself. If they didn't find their friends soon, they'd be stuck here for a long time and more importantly, if one of Sakura's feathers was here, they needed Mokona to find it.

But here they were, walking through empty streets, wandering aimlessly.

From the corner of his eyes, he saw Sakura try to stifle a yawn, bringing up her hand to her mouth, trying to hide the yawn that escaped her. She still needed more of feathers and the long journey was draining her of what little strength she had. This reminded him of how few of her feathers he had found. It made him feel so inadequate, so undeserving of this mission – if it had been someone else with her, the High Priest or perhaps the King himself, would they have gotten more of her feathers?

"Ne, Syaoran-kun, is everything ok?" Sakura asked, pausing to stare at him.

Syaoran was suddenly thankful for the shadows hiding his face. He could feel his cheeks starting to burn. "Iie." He mumbled, shaking his head and forcing to sound more cheerful, shoving all thoughts out of his head. "I'm just a bit worried that we might not find a place where we could stay… soon, it would be morning and…"

Sakura smiled at him, her first smile for the day, even when she was tired, was almost like a ray of sunshine to Syaoran. "I'm sure we could find a suitable place, Syaoran-kun."

When they finally did, (a small house at the back of an old temple) Sakura was already asleep, draped on his back. She had adamantly refused his offer to carry her on his back, but soon her fatigue had worn her out and eventually, she very shyly rested her cheeks against Syaoran's back, wrapping her arms around him.

It thrilled Syaoran to no end to have the princess so close to him, to feel the steady beating on her heart, feel the strands of her hair lightly brushing against his face that it seemed almost a misfortune that he found the old temple. It meant that he would have to let go of her – but Syaoran knew that someday, he'd do just that and it was better now to teach his heart this lesson, little by little. It wouldn't make it any easier on him when that time finally comes… but at least…

_But at least what?_

He could do it, though. He knew he could. He was strong.

Syaoran didn't have any trouble finding a window and opening it. As gently as he could, without jarring Sakura and waking her up, he managed to deposit her inside the house through the window. When he climbed in, he made sure that the house was empty – satisfied that no one else was inside, he laid Sakura down on the floor, using his dark green coat as a makeshift bed of some sort.

"Syaoran-kun?" Sakura murmured sleepily.

"Hai, hime?"

"You found us a place to stay!" She said, smiling up at him. "I knew you would! I wish I could've helped too…"

He knew she meant it too, but he still couldn't help but feel as though he had failed her in some way. It was small grimy house, filled with rats and cobwebs, something he was sure that the princess wasn't used to. Did she remember? Did she remember her wonderful bedroom in the palace? The satin sheets she used to sleep in… did she miss them? He wished he could bring all those comforts to her right now, everything fit for a princess; He wanted to make sure that she would be warm and comfortable…

He felt her fingertips touching his forehead, "Syaoran-kun?" she asked, her voice low.

"Daijoubu, hime. Please get some rest. You're tired."

"So are you, Syaoran-kun." She let her fingers slide from his forehead to his cheeks, her palms gently cupping his face and Syaoran could feel the warmth spreading from where she was touching him all the way down to his toes. "Get some sleep…everything will be ok…" and her eyes drifted close, lips moving silently.

He leaned down and tried to catch her words, already fading but he could swear that she called him by his name, without the –kun, but he must be tired too.

Wishful thinking.

She would never call him that again.

After a while, there was only the sound of her breathing steadily and Syaoran finally pulled back, placing a gentle finger against her cheeks, allowing himself that briefest touch before moving away to sit across from her, back resting against the bamboo walls.

He would watch her sleep. Protect her. He will never leave her, not until he had recovered all of her feathers, her memories – not until he has her heart.

* * *

**Additional notes:** Uhm, there are more chapters to come. I promise you that and I won't leave this hanging. I swear. Anyway, I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave your comments, criticism, reviews, death threats, anything and everything you want to tell me. I will be happy to hear from readers. It's been such a long while since I wrote anything, I sort of missed it. I do miss it.

Many, many thanks!

Yuki


	2. Chapter 2

Wings

Chapter 2

The first thing he did as soon as he got out of his room was to check the answering machine. There was already one message:

"'Ni-chan! You're still asleep! I can't believe it! I already called earlier but the phone just kept on ringing and ringing! Why do you absolutely refuse to have a phone in your room? No, Kero, don't open that. If there's an emergency call you won't be able to hear the phone from downstairs! You're so stubborn! Anyway, I was just going to… Kero, put that down! You're going to break it... and hoeeee!"

There was a rather loud crash from the background, followed by sounds of struggle: scuffling of feet, little screamsand then slamming of drawers.

What on earth… Touya thought frowning.

The voice message continued on, with Sakura now sounding a little breathless. "Now, look at this mess! I'll call back again, 'Ni-chan and Kero, you are so dead! Oh, 'ni-chan, don't forget to eat breakfast and check the mail, ok! Ja!"

The message ended there.

Typical of his sister. She couldn't just leave the stuff toy and go on about with her business, which was to call him first thing in the morning. It was unnecessary for her to call ofcourse, but he had ordered her to do just that.

"_First thing in the morning, Kaiju. That means before you do anything else, you call home. You do understand what that means, right?"_

"_Ne, oni-chan, I'm beginning to think that you need me more than you let on!"_

"'_Course. My only source of entertainment is you. Now do that funny monster face again."_

"_Oni-chan!"_

"_Ah perfect!"_

Touya smirked at the memory. It was true that Sakura could be really amusing and she doesn't even have to try to be amusing, which makes her even more amusing. And truth be told, he had gotten used to hearing Sakura's voice in the morning. He didn't want to miss her daily: "I'm going to be late!" "Hoeeee!" and "Oni-chan, I'm not a kaiju!"

Besides, she didn't seem to mind either. She had called him everyday and mostly, they just bicker about absolutely nothing and then she'd slam the phone down on him or the stuff toy would do something really stupid before the line would get cut. Today, it looked like the little yellow thing had broken something. Probably ruined something from the hotel room, or if he was really, really lucky, something from the Brat's ancestral home. A Ming Dynasty vase or something…

Touya made a face, rolling his eyes as he suddenly remembered that the Kaiju was vacationing in China. With the Brat. So many things wrong with that but there was nothing that he could do but wait until she returned home and give her hell for managing to convince their father that it was a great idea, spending her vacation with that kid.

Meeting the in-laws, as Tomoyo had teased and at which point, Touya remember, he had sputtered coffee all over their dinner table.

He had tried arguing with their father that Sakura was barely of legal age, having just turned sixteen, to have un-chaperoned vacations, especially with The Gaki.

"Her boyfriend of many, many years," his father corrected him

His point exactly! And did they _really_ have to go to China? So far from home. So far from them – her family.

His father had bemusedly told him that he would have to learn how to let go. Sakura was growing up and very soon, she would be venturing out into the world on her own. It was inevitable.

Touya didn't think it was _that_ inevitable.

"It's predestined." Yukito once told him, during one of the rare occasions that he had managed to rope him into talking about his Older Brother Psychosis (before it was just older-brother-complex)"Sakura-chan and Syaoran are predestined. Do you not believe in that, To-ya?"

Sure, he believed in it. Destiny, Fate, the stuff Kaho loved to think about and discuss with him. Things happen for a reason; nothing is just a matter of consequences. Believe in the future, hadn't Kaho told him that once?

But that didn't mean that he'd give up on his sister so quickly and without a fight. And fought he did, viciously too (and maybe a little childishly) considering the obnoxious Chinese brat was a worthy opponent.

"Give it up, Touya."His father had advised him when he sullenly informed Sakura that he was against whatever form of relationship – other than sworn enemies, that he'd approve of, most certainly! – that she'll have with the brat.

But Touya just couldn't. To him Sakura would always be the five year old girl, clutching his hand, smiling up at him in awe as he promised never to let her go.

A promise was a promise, after all, especially if made by an older brother.

He worried about his sister, constantly. Not because she wasn't a good person, prone to troublemaking. Trouble usually found her, which seemed highly unfair. Sakura had always been nice and sweet with an amazingly happy disposition in life.

Not that he would actually say those words out loud; there were facades to keep and roles to play. He was the annoyingly paranoid, over-protective big brother and she was his little kaiju. It was his role, therefore to terrorize any boy and or men who dared to take her away from him.

Touya wondered if and when the time comes for him to entrust Sakura to someone else, would he be able to do just that?

----- -----

As soon as the sun started to rise, Syaoran decided to try and look for their friends again. He wanted to find their friends and surprise Sakura. He wanted to see her face when she wakes up and finds Mokono hovering above her. Wanted to see her delighted laugh when she discovers that they were all together now, as they should be. He hadn't planned on venturing out so far from the temple, but he felt that he needed to put some sort of distance between him and Sakura. It was becoming more and more difficult to remind himself that he could never have the same closeness that they had before… it was a high price to pay but for Sakura, he would do everything, give up everything… he just needed…

_Some air. Clear up his thoughts…_

However else he put it, the distance from Sakura seemed almost compulsory and this made him feel confused. He wished there was an easier way to go on about finding Sakura's feather without having to feel so much, expect so much, hope for things to just magically change and one day, she'd just wake up and remember _him_. Remember _them. _

Sometimes he just didn't know how… how to teach his heart not to feel so cheated...

Taking a deep breath, Syaoran steeled himself from thinking of such thoughts. It wasn't as though Sakura had wanted this to happen… he had to be strong for the two of them. He had promised to find her feathers and he will find them, no matter what.

He shouldn't let himself feel this way, he reminded himself, or else Sakura would pick up on it and then she'd worry about him. About them. And the last thing he wanted was to cause some sort of discomfort for the princess. They had been in a situation like this before. They could handle this fine. He won't let anything happen to her. He had been successful with this vow so far. He wasn't going to let her and himself down.

----- -----

The silent house greeted them as he sat down for breakfast. Their father was out of town for the week, which left him to fend off for himself. He was used to it; he was an independent kid, as so many of his father's friends had commented about him. What he would never get used was this quietness.

The stillness of everything around reminded him of… something about the desert.

So eerily quite and desolate.

Without warning, fragments of his dream came back to him: wind, dust, wings, a night so black that light only came from a pink crescent moon, ruins buried on the sand….

What he could remember the most however was the feeling of helpless. Touya's jaw clenched. He wondered if the dream was, in some ways, prophetic.

But he was certain that Sakura wasn't in any sort of trouble. His powers had been slowly coming back, in small flashes, slowly but steadily building back up again, he could feel more, could sense more. And if anything should happen, he would know. Yue would know and would definitely find a way to inform him.

Besides, he had been constantly checking up on Sakura himself. Their daily calls were enough to reassure him that everything was ok.

"_I don't think you miss me at all, 'ni-chan! You just want to annoy me!"_

"_Miss you? Kaiju, I'm merely calling to remind you that this is the 12th time that I had to do the dishes – on your behalf. At the rate things are going, as soon as you get home, you're going to do the dishes for the rest of your life!"_

Plus, if the Kaiju ever got into trouble, the plushie toy was with her and so was the Gaki and the Gaki knows that if something happened to his sister while under his care, there would be lots of blood, and pain and broken bones – he made that perfectly clear the day they left for China. The Gaki had grumbling sworn on his own life and Touya was holding on to the Gaki's vow.

Even without the stuffed animal and the brat Touya knew that Sakura could handle anything that comes her way, whatever form of trouble it might be.

And Touya worried about her precisely because she was too good at dealing with her problems. He worried that someday, she won't need him anymore and that she'd eventually leave, go someplace where he could not follow her, protect her, make sure that she was ok.

One day, he'll wake up and she'd be gone.

The dream-feathers flashed inside his mind and following that image, was a vision of his Kaiju, sprouting white wings and quietly flying away.

----- -----

Author's note: Erm, well, the story is going quite slowly, but I promise something will have to happen soon. Eventually. About Touya knowing the whole Yue/Yukito, Kero, cards, etcthing, I've always felt that there'd come a time that Sakura would have to come clean and tell Touya everything, not that Touya needed to know, but it's Sakura and I fell that at some point, she'd realized that not telling her brother is almost like a betrayal of some sort. So let's just say that she'd already told Touya everything and Touya's response had been:

_Touya blinked his eyes and then very slowly smirked. "Ne, Kaiju, you think I didn't know? Now, go wash the dishes."_

But we all know that deep inside, Touya is thrilled and thankful that his sister trusted him with that secret!

Alright then, until the next update.

Many, many thanks for taking your time to read this and please do leave your comments and reviews. I really appreciate it.

PS: Wanted: Beta-reader.


	3. Chapter 3

Wings

By Yuki

Chapter 3

Author's note: Right. Ok. I do not own any of the characters, how I wish I do… but I really, sadly, don't.

Anyway, much much thanks to my wonderful beta-reader **kawaii sakura**

If somehow, there seems to be some odd grammar mistake or plot hole, any inconsistencies at all, that would be entirely my fault, for being so stubborn and not correcting them as they should have been.

Many, many thanks to everyone that had reviewed, I really appreciate it!

* * *

Wings 

By Yuki

Chapter 3

The city was just beginning to stir. Everything seemed normal enough. Syaoran noticed that this place was a lot like the Hanshin Republic. It had the same strange architecture and paved streets. There were already people starting their days, and he would occasionally be greeted by smiles.

Their friendliness was appreciated, but it put him off a little. They smiled as if they recognized him. At one point, a man from a flower shop approached him and looked at him for a few seconds before exclaiming, "My, how tall you are now! How was your trip to China?" As he said this, the man's eyes suddenly lit up and he grabbed the nearest bouquet of flowers – a dozen white lilies, tied together by a pink ribbon. "Here, give these to Sakura-chan! I'm sure she'll like them!"

It startled Syaoran to hear the man say Sakura's name. That he had said it with affection – a note of a fond memory ringing clearly – didn't make Syaoran feel any better. He tried to keep calm, even though every fiber in his being was more alert than he already was.

_Not everything is what it seems_, he reminded himself silently.

So many worlds, so many dimensions – the only way to survive is to never trust anyone, sometimes, even yourself.

He had to be careful.

As casually as he could, Syaoran politely thanked the man and managed to show his appreciation of the gesture with what he hoped was a grateful smiled. He then very slowly walked away, keeping his eyes on the old man who went on to arrange the flowers on display outside the shop, seemingly having lost his interest in Sakura and himself.

As soon as he was sure that he was out of sight of the man, he ran; cursing himself for going so far from the temple and leaving Sakura alone.

What if she woke up and he wasn't there? Would she think that he had abandoned her? She might look for him. And the last thing he wanted was to lose the princess. He already had once. But he had at least had his suspicions of her whereabouts and his bearings in the Jade World. Here he had neither.

Stupid and sloppy. Syaoran thought, berating himself for his carelessness. He ran as fast and as hard as he could, pushing himself forward, ignoring the ache in his muscles, the painful pounding of his heart.

_I'm coming hime. I'm coming Sakura._

In his haste, he dropped the lilies, but he didn't turn back to pick it up, he kept his eyes on the path towards Sakura.

Keep your eyes forward, don't look back. Never look back. Kurogane's words echoed in his mind.

And Syaoran kept on running.

* * *

"I'll be home in a few days, oni-chan." His sister growled on the phone. "You make such a big fuss out of such a small vacation." 

Small vacation, she says! A small vacation! Touya made a face and shook his head. A few days at the beach, that's a small vacation. Camping for a few nights, that's a small vacation. Going to China for two whole weeks, well, that wasn't just a small vacation. No. It was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Can I talk to Yukito now?" Sakura asked impatiently. She knew that today Yukito was coming over for lunch and she had made him promise earlier that he would call as soon as Yukito arrived so she could say hi.

Touya narrowed his eyes. "Not before I talk to the brat."

There was a long suffering sigh, coupled with some incoherent mumbling. "Are you going to threaten him again?" Sakura finally asked irritably.

"Of course!" Touya said, rolling his eyes, sounding just as annoyed. "Why did you think I called?"

"Oni-chan!" Sakura said through gritted teeth and Touya forced himself not to chuckle out loud. He could clearly see his sister getting all worked up. At sixteen, she still hadn't learned the lesson that the more she reacted when he teased her, the more fun it was to tease her.

Even Touya had to admit that his sister could look cute when angry. "Where's the brat?"

"He's asleep." Sakura answered with a sigh and Touya didn't like her answer or the sound of her sigh.

"What?" He exploded, his voice loud enough to send the tea cups on the table rattling. "I thought you said you were in your room!"

"I am in my room!" Sakura told him, completely exasperated, all patience lost.

"Then he _better_ be asleep in another room, kaiju. A hundred floors from your room," he replied huffily.

"I'm not a kaiju." Sakura muttered. "And Syaoran booked us adjoining rooms, oni-chan," she told him, sounding a little too pleased with herself and her brat of a boyfriend.

"That little…" Touya's grip on the phone tightened, he could see his knuckles slowly turning white. The audacity! The sheer audacity of that little punk to… to… "Don't think that just because…" he began through gritted teeth.

"I want to say hello too." Yukito suddenly interrupted, lightly touching Touya's arm.

Touya turned and scowled at Yukito, knowing perfectly well what he was doing. Yukito had appointed himself as the unofficial mediator between the warring siblings. It was sort of fitting, as Yuki always knew when to step in between an argument, when to distract them from strangling each other to death.

"Yuki, wants to say hi." Touya said in a gruff voice, shoving the phone into Yuki's waiting hand. He crossed his arms and listened intently to a rather one sided conversation as it was the only way for him to know exactly what was going on with his sister's vacation. Sakura told Yukito practically everything.

It sounded like Sakura was at least having fun, some of the stories he managed to decipher were about a recent trip to the beach, a small party that the Lis gave in her honor, and then after that a night out with Meilin and Syaoran's sisters. In between the talking about the "lovely blue ocean" and the "noisy clubs with bright yellow and pink lights" Yukito somehow managed to advise Sakura to take things slow with Syaoran, at which point Touya thought he was going to have a heart attack.

"Gimme that!" he raged at Yukito, holding out his arm in a particularly violent way.

"Be nice, ok?" Yukito said, before handing him the phone calmly.

Touya made grumbling noises at the back of his throat before snatching the phone away. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that Sakura was a smart girl and wouldn't do anything that he and his father would disapprove of. "Remember, I'll be picking you up at the airport, so don't be late."

"Airport?" Sakura asked him, sounding genuinely confused.

Touya could hear the sound of rustling papers and he was sure that his sister had forgotten that she was going to go home in two days time. She seemed to be having _so_ much fun out there and somehow, this made Touya even more irritable. "Kaiju, I'm beginning to think that you don't want to go home at all! You do remember that you're supposed to be home by Friday, right?"

"Don't be so melodramatic, 'ni-chan. I just forgot, ok."

"You're so stupid sometimes, you forget about the simplest things!" His voice had risen, even before he could stop himself and he could feel Yukito looking at him with reprimanding eyes.

There was a rather long pause on the end on the other end of the line and Touya found himself gritting his teeth in frustration. He hadn't intended to sound so… mean. He was just about to apologize when he heard a delicate sniff followed by: "I'm not stupid, Touya." Sakura said in a low but firm tone of voice.

He cringed at that. She never usually called him by his name. It had always been "oni-chan". She only used his name when she was trying to annoy him or when she was upset about something that he had said or done.

"Well, stop acting like you are…" He grumbled. It was the closest thing he'd ever get to an apology.

"And what if the flight got delayed for a day or two?" Sakura asked, obviously trying to aggravate him even more.

And she was actually quite successful. "Do your thing then," Touya said, trying to keep his voice reasonably low, "do whatever it is that you do with those damn cards or whatever the hell that yellow toy of yours is good for but you better be at the airport on time, waiting for me to pick you up."

There was a pause before Sakura sighed her familiar sigh, the one that included a smile of amusement and then without any sort of warning, blurted out: "I miss you too, oni-chan!"

"W-wa…what?" Touya sputtered completely taken aback. She sounded like she meant it too and he could feel his throat suddenly aching.

"I said, I miss you too, oni-chan." Sakura repeated and Touya could very clearly see her smiling.

"I… I…" he stuttered helplessly; utterly and impossibly embarrassed by his sister's sudden outburst.

Thankfully, Sakura cut him off. "I'll see you soon, I promise, ne?"

Touya wanted to strangle Sakura for putting him in such a precarious position. He wanted to say he missed her too, but didn't quite know how. He gritted his teeth and formed the words inside his head… _I miss you too, immotou-chan…_

Had he ever called her that? Maybe now was the right time to say those words out loud. Touya opened his mouth and: "Yeah, yeah. Don't let the Brat…" He heard himself say before he could stop himself.

Suddenly understanding the words that were coming out of his mouth Touya felt his face suddenly go warm. He just _had_ to get into this sort of talk now! From the corner of his eyes, he could see Yukito looking highly amused. "Just… just don't let him…" He faltered helplessly.

"Don't let Syaoran what?" Sakura asked, the sarcastic curiosity in her voice almost becoming audible. "C'mmon, onii-chan, say it. Don't let him?"

It was possible that at twenty-two, Touya also hadn't learned the lesson that Sakura was just as good when it came to teasing and nettling him. "Don't let him see you in your pajamas!" He growled before putting the phone down. He could feel his face burning up and could sense Yukito's eyes on him.

Toura slowly turned around, preparing himself for Yukito's endless teasing but was surprised to see Yukito without that silly grin on his face, though his eyes had a mischievous twinkle in them.

"Ne, Touya." Yukito said, chuckling softly.

Touya crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows, trying his best to ignore the bemused expression on his friend's face. "What?" He asked in a challenging voice.

Yukito shook his head and then knowingly nodded his head, as though he had just solved some great, big mystery and then, suddenly turning serious, he tilted his head and regarded him with a look of concern. "Are you ever going to tell me what's wrong?"

Touya paused and stared out of the window.

It seemed like today would be one of those perfect blue-skies, wonderful-weather day. But somehow, there was something outside that unnerved him. He remembered his dream.

"Feathers."

"Feathers?" This time it was Yukito's turn to raise his eyebrow.

"Feathers. Wings…" Touya mumbled distractedly, wondering if the dreams meant something else, something that had nothing to do with _his_ little Kaijuu.

"Wings?" Yukito asked, frowning.

Touya shook his head and flopped himself down on the sofa, grabbing a piece of cake that Yukito had brought. "Never mind." He said, before stuffing the food into his mouth, preventing him from answering Yukito's questioning look. If it didn't have anything to with his sister, then he shouldn't worry so much. "Let's have lunch."

Yukito was silent for a few seconds, before giving in. He knew when to press for details and when to drop the subject. Touya would tell him when he was ready. It had always been that way. He reached out to briefly pat Touya's shoulder before smiling easily. "Ne, To-ya, did you cook your famous spaghetti?"

Touya hmpfed and crossed his arms against his chest. "Of course, I did!"

"That's so kind of you, To-ya!" Yukito said, delightedly clapping his hands.

* * *

It seemed to take him forever to return to the temple, and when he finally reached the door, his heart was thundering madly inside his chest. Breathless with worry, he had to stop for a few seconds to calm himself down. He'd be useless if he let his emotions get the best of him. 

_Breathe, Syaoran, dammit. _

He clutched his chest, fingernails digging into his skin as he quickly surveyed the immediate surroundings, trying to remember if something was amiss, if there had been any slight changes around him.

No footprints anywhere. Nothing so out of the ordinary. Everything was exactly how he had left it but there was something inside him that was still alert, still on the edge and he was afraid to call Sakura's name and instead be answered with silence.

The fear was almost paralyzing. Syaoran gritted his teeth, managing to shake off the panic that was slowly clawing its way inside his heart.

"Sakura-hime?" He had meant to keep his voice low, so as not to startle the princess. He figured, she might still be asleep, or waiting for him by the door, in any case, she'd still hear him calling her.

But no one answered.

He called out once more, the panic that he had thought he had successfully stamped down was coming back stronger than before.

"Sakura-hime!" He practically broke down the door down rushing in, startling Sakura.

She let out a small scream, quickly biting down hard on her tongue when she realized it was only him. "Syaoran-kun!" She said, her voice low and a little breathless, her hand drifting over to her chest to press small delicate fingers against her heart.

"So-sorry." He mumbled, feeling his face flush. He stared down on the floor, chest heaving. "Sorry, princess. I called… but you didn't answer right away… I thought, I thought…" He gave her another apologetic bow, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's ok, Syaoran-kun." She answered softly. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you, I was on the other room and…" She waved her hand, indicating the opened door at her right, which had led into another room. She seemed to have been wandering inside the temple and Syaoran felt his throat tightening. Had she been looking for him all this time?

"I'm sorry I left you all alone…" he began and it seemed as though Sakura had read the fear in his voice as he sensed her moving towards him. Syaoran almost took a step forward but he stood his ground, even though a huge part of him wanted to meet her halfway, reach out and pull her towards him, wrap his arms around her. Hold her there, inside his arms and never, ever let her go.

"I knew you'd be back for me, Syaoran-kun." She assured him, taking his hands in hers. She gently squeezed his hands. Her fingers were warm and it grazed the skin of his writs, rubbing gently, soothingly.

Syaoran closed his eyes, unsure of what to say.

He didn't know if there was a way, in any of the spoken language of all the worlds and dimensions out there that they had been to, that he could use to let her know how much those words meant to him.

Her faith in him… it was worth it, everything that he had gone through… that she believed in him, even though she had no memory of him, even though he was almost as good as a stranger to her… it meant everything to Syaoran.

She let him have his silence. She was used to it by now. Some days, she'd ask him what's wrong and he'd shake his head, reassuring her that everything was fine. Some days, she'd let him have that moment, just holding his hand or just sitting beside him, watching him with those startling green eyes of hers.

When he finally opened his eyes, he gave her a small grateful smile and she finally let go of his hand. He missed it almost immediately, the warmth, the smoothness of her skin, but he let his hands fall to his sides.

"I… did you… I mean…" she paused, looking around him and realizing that he had come back alone, no Fai-san, no Kurogane-san and no Mokona-chan.

He looked at her then, her bright green eyes, hopeful and almost excited and he felt the weight of his failure to find their friends press down on him, the image of Sakura happily laughing quickly fading away.

Her eyes darkened, reading the emotion in his face and he quickly looked down, not wanting to see the flash of disappointment in her eyes. He saw her wring her fingers together and the silence around them was enough to send Syaoran spiraling to the edge: not good enough, not good enough...

Sakura grabbed his hand again, squeezing it gently and Syaoran forced himself to look at her and was greeted by her smile, "Did you find out where we are?"

Syaoran nodded quietly; here at least was something that he managed to accomplish. "Tomoeda" He answered, feeling the same effect that name had given him earlier that day when he had asked around, pretending to be lost.

"_Excuse me, sir, but may I ask what this place is?"_

"Tomoeda?" Sakura repeated, as though tasting the words in her mouth. "It sounds… awfully familiar."

Syaoran's eyes widened. He had felt the same thing, the same sense of familiarity. The princess had sensed it too. He remembered the old man from the flower shop. When he said Sakura's name, it had bothered him so much that he failed to realize that old man seemed to know him too.

"Where's Tomoeda? Is it a country?" Sakura asked him, still not letting go of his hands.

"It's a small town in Japan." He informed him, watching her face for any sign of… Syaoran frowned.

Any sign of what?

"Kurogane-san's Japan?" Sakura asked, her green eyes alight with curiosity.

Syaoran shook his head. "It doesn't seem like Kurogane-san's Japan." He told her, remembering the few stories that Kurogane-san had told him about his world.

He wanted to tell her that this Japan seemed the same as Yuuko-sama's Japan, but she wouldn't have remembered meeting Yuuko-sama in her world.

He also wanted to tell her that somehow, this place, this Tomoeda, felt more like… theirs.

* * *

Author's note: I hope you liked this update. Sorry if they're coming in a bit too slow, had been really busy with work. Please feel free to leave all your C&Cs! 

See you in the next chapters!

And uhm, if it's a bit confusing, the itakized sentences/paragraphs are flashbacks.


	4. Chapter 4

Wings

By Yuki

Author's note: Oooh, I am so sorry that it took me this long to post the update. I had been really busy with work these past few months. Anyway, I promise to try and update as often as I could. Thanks so much for the wonderful reviews. I really, really do appreciate them. Makes me believe in this story even if it's still very much in a "construction" sort of phase. LOL. My many thanks and much hugs to my wonderful beta-reader, **kawaii sakura**! Again: If somehow, there seems to be some odd grammar mistake or plot hole, any inconsistencies at all, that would be entirely my fault, for being so stubborn and not correcting them as they should have been.

Wings

Chapter 4

Lunch was uneventful, at least it was until his mother showed up.

Touya was taking a sip of water when she appeared in a seat across from him. When he looked up and saw her, Touya actually dropped the half filled glass on the floor.

She was looking at him with those piercing green eyes, the same familiar, comforting eyes his sister had inherited and the glass simply slipped from fingers that had suddenly gone ice cold. It hit the floor with enough force for it to shatter into a hundred pieces. Touya jumped back in surprise and within seconds, the carpet was soaked and bits and pieces of the glass swam on the clear water.

He stared at the mess for a few seconds and in that brief moment of confusion and disbelief, he wasn't quite sure where he was or what his name was. The only thing he knew was his mother's smile, his mother's eyes, her presence so achingly familiar…

Touya blinked. He felt like he was inside a dream. Everything around him was hazy, except for the mess on the floor which was looked too real, too sharp and too vivid. He felt as though the world had tipped over and instead of looking at the floor, he was staring at the dark sky dotted with tiny, jagged little white stars.

The practical part of his mind was silently thankful that it was just water he had spilled. If he had been holding a cup of coffee or a glass of red wine, it would've left a magnificent stain on their carpet. But carpet stains were the least of Touya's worries.

He forced himself to look up again, half expecting and half dreading to see an empty seat. If that had been the case, he would have sighed and blamed it on a restless, sleepless night. He was seeing things, imagining that he could still see his mother.

But that, clearly, wasn't the case. His mother was still there, hands clasped on top of the table, sitting quiet and serene, right across from him, waiting for her oldest child to collect himself.

His mother was there.

His _dead _mother.

_He could see her again!_

Touya could feel his heart pounding frantically inside his chest, banging hard against his rib cage. He had to swallow several times before he could even speak and when he finally did say something, his voice was so low, so hoarse, it sounded so foreign even to his own ears. "Okaasan."

It was much of a question rather a statement or a greeting.

His mother remained silent, gently tilting her head, looking at him with affection.

Touya slowly shook his head. "I must be dreaming." He mumbled. He hadn't seen his mother since he had given up his powers for Yue and Yukito.

Touya made a face. True, he had been feeling small flashes of his power lately, but it was just and had always been something sort of shadow, mere remnants of his _abilities_.Besides he knew for a fact that they hadn't returned his magic, and Yue would've said something. Even if he hadn't (Yue never did pay him much attention anyway) Yukito or Sakura or even the plushie toy (all smug about it too!) would've let him know…

"But how…" He began, suddenly feeling anxious. _Had something happen to Yue? To Yukito? _He was just about to ask when Nadeshiko slowly shook her head and somehow that one small, simple gesture erased all of his worries.

_Nothing bad had happened to Yue. Yukito was safe. _If something had happened, he would've felt it, even without his powers… but, why was he suddenly seeing his mother again after such a long time?

"I fancied a visit." Nadeshioko finally said, smiling at him, as though it was a perfectly logical, perfectly sound reason why she was there. The smiled reached out and touched his heart and Touya found himself slowly grinning, like a little boy suddenly solving a precious mystery.

He couldn't remember how many times he had wished to see her once again, how often he had hoped and dreamed, and now that she was here, in front of him...he could just reach out and…"Okaasan, I… I've missed you." He finally said his voice rough with emotion.

"I've missed you too, Touya." His mother replied, her voice delicate and clear, just as he had remembered it.

He wanted to do, to say so many things, all at the same time but the first words out of his mouth were strings of almost incoherent apologies: "I'm sorry, I had to… I had to give up seeing you… I…it's the only way. I couldn't… I didn't want to lose… Sakura and Yukito and…" Touya paused and took a deep breath, composing himself. "But how come I can see your again?" He asked, frowning in confusion.

"Your sister helped. Or at least your other sister." Nadeshiko told him.

Touya blinked, not sure whether he had heard his mother right. "My other **_what_**?"

Nadeshiko nodded. "She's searching for her memories."

Touya tilted his head, frowning. "Who is searching for her memories, mother?"

"Sakura." Nadeshiko answered, with a prim nod of her head.

"She _lost_ her memories?" Touya asked, raw panic rising from the very depths of his heart. "Is she… did something bad happened to her? Just now?"

Nadeshiko frowned slightly and then her expression cleared and she elegantly shrugged her shoulder. "You could say that."

His whole body turned into a block of ice and for a moment and there was a loud, buzzing noise inside his head. Lost her memories? Touya tried to make out what that meant. Memories? Like amnesia? "Is she in a coma?" He asked, barely noticing that his mother was far from panicking, far from looking worried at all, in fact. All he could think of at that moment was the phone. He had to call Yukito and Tomoyo. Their father too. He had to get a plane ticket to China, his sister would be looking for him, expecting him to there for her. He had to call… "I have to call the Gaki in China!" Touya exclaimed, almost leaping out of the room, frantic to get to the phone.

"China?" His mother asked in confusion, frowning at him, stopping him dead in his tracks. "But she's _here_, Touya." She informed him calmly.

_What_? Touya's panic was quickly shrinking, replaced by an even greater feeling of utter confusion. "No…" he said slowly. "Sakura is with the Gaki, in China, they're visiting the Brat's relatives and…"

Nadeshiko's eyes lit up and she beamed at him, her smile like the rays of summer sunshine. "Oh, yes, visiting the in-laws."

"Okaasan!" Touya gasped, taking a step back. "Don't say that!"

His mother merely chuckled at him. "Touya, really, you sound like a disgruntled father. Your father doesn't mind."

"Well he should." He said trying his best not to sound like a pouting child. The conversation seemed to be looping and twisting into several dozen knots, and he was quickly losing track of what they were talking about. "Is Sakura alright?" He asked firmly.

Thankfully, she seemed to have sensed his worry and immediately reassured him. "My little Sakura is fine," Nadeshiko replied, and Touya let out a huge sigh of relief.

His sister was fine. Nothing bad had happened to her. He didn't have to kill the Gaki…yet…

"It's the _other_ Sakura that I'm worried about." Nadeshiko told him, sounding upset.

"I'm getting a headache." Touya mumbled, sitting down and clutching his forehead, which was beginning to throb.

"Oh, Touya," His mother scolded gently. "Do pay attention."

Touya made a face and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mother. It's just…" he helplessly waved his in hands in the air, "this is all very confusing."

His mother leaned forward and bit her lip. "You don't know where her memory is, do you?"

Touya blinked. And they were back to memories again. Could his mother be speaking in riddles? Nadeshiko had told him a lot of things… but sometimes, she wanted him to find out for himself, because it taught him to hone his _skills_, his senses. Maybe this was one of those instances. "Well," Touya began carefully, chewing his lips, trying to decide what the best answer would be. Maybe if he answered the riddle correctly, his mother would finally tell him something that would make sense. "Are we talking of long-term or short-term memories here?"

His mother paused, silently deliberating. "Both!" She exclaimed.

Touya remembered a science lesson they had years ago. "Uh, memories are stored inside the brains?"

His mother tutted.

That was expected. Touya tried once again, this time trying to think like Yuki – he always had the most unexpected and therefore, the correct (at least as far as his mother's riddles were concerned) answer.

"Her memories are inside her heart?"

Nadeshiko smiled fondly at him. "That's sweet, Touya. But try harder." His mother advised him. "She needs them, you know."

"Can't you give me a hint?" Touya asked. "I really have no idea, okassan."

"But you should." His mother insisted, suddenly looking very anxious. "They're flighty, delicate little things and she's been looking for them ever since she lost them."

Touya wished there was a way to understand what his mother was talking about. If he could just find a way to subtly get the answer from her. "Memories look like that?" He asked, eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"Well, memories are different for each people, you know. Yours are crisp, brown autumn leaves." She informed him.

Touya blinked. Well, that was certainly helpful. "I give up!"

"Oh, but you shouldn't, Touya! If you do, she'd be very, very sad and lonely."

"But… okaasan!" He sputtered in frustration. This conversation was clearly heading nowhere or at least nowhere near _sane_. Touya wondered why he was having such a bizarre conversation with his mother. This wasn't what he had planned on talking to her about when he finally got to see her again. "Maybe you could help me out." He said, trying one last time. "Is there something that I need to do?"

But Nadeshiko seemed to have forgotten about lost memories. She simply smiled at him and reached out to pat his hand. He could feel a rush of warm air around him, as though she had hugged him, even though she remained seated.

"Oh, forgive me, I didn't mean to upset you." She said, squeezing his fingers gently. "Don't worry, I trust that you'll make the right decision." She regarded him affectionately, her pride and confidence in him evident in the way her eyes sparkled. "You always make the right choices…" and then Nadeshiko paused and giggled softly. "Well, no, not always."

"Not always?" Touya asked, slightly offended. His mother laughed a little harder.

"You shouldn't be so hard on Sakura and Syaoran." She told him, sounding quite amused.

Touya couldn't believe that he was hearing this from his mother as well. He was very close to pouting as he crossed his arms across his chest. No one else seemed to care that the Hong Kong kid was stealing Sakura away from them. Not his father, not Tomoyo, not Yukito. Even the stuffed animal and Yue and the cards didn't seem to care either, and Sakura was their entire world! Touya let out a derisive little snort.

"You're going to have to give her away, someday." Nadeshiko said, effectively derailing his train of thought.

"Not to that Brat." Touya answered almost immediately and with startling conviction.

"Oh, Touya." Nadeshiko gently shook her head, "You already made that choice."

"I don't think so." Touya replied, this time not able to help keep the annoyance out of his voice. The one time he could talk to his mother, they had to discuss that Gaki. "I think I'd remember something like that." He insisted huffily.

His mother didn't seem to hear him or wasn't at all listening. "You made the right choice." She said, her eyes locked at some point, some corner just beyond Touya's shoulder.

Touya opened his mouth to protest, but his mother suddenly stood up, glancing at the framed photo of Syaoran and Sakura. "It would be difficult for you, for Sakura too, and Syaoran as well," She sighed and then turned her attention back to him, her eyes bright and alight with some secret knowledge that Touya wished she could share with him. "But everything will be alright, I promise you that."

"Okaasan…" He began, wanting to go back to talking about lost memories. It seemed important. His mother wouldn't have come if it weren't.

"My, quite a mess you have there!" His mother suddenly exclaimed.

Touya turned his head towards the direction his mother had pointed, seeing the almost dried patch of carpet, still shining with the shards of glass. "Extra chores, oh, I've got loads." He mumbled quietly to himself. When he turned his attention back to his mother, just as he had suspected, she was gone.

Touya sighed, closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair. _Lost memories_. How could anyone lose their memories? Maybe she meant lost minds? Because Touya felt like he was starting to really lose his.

He was going insane and it was all because of that stupid Gaki and the stupid trip to China and the stupid conspiracy to take his sister away from him. Even his mother was on it! He pinched the bridge of his nose, breathing silently, counting one to ten. Kaho had once tried to teach him how to meditate. He didn't like it. Bored him to tears actually. But he would often use some of the techniques she taught him on how to calm himself.

Kaho had always commented that he was such a whirling, dark storm and he needed to find his center, or else he'd just whiz by everyone without a care. He had liked it when Kaho told him that. Although now, he wasn't so sure if it was a compliment…

After a few minutes Touya finally opened his eyes, feeling quite groggy. Like he had just fallen asleep. Maybe he had?

Had he?

Frowning, he glanced at the small darkened portion of the carpet and the broken pieces of glasses surrounding it. He tilted his head and grimaced at the small dried up puddle on the floor.

What the hell...where did the mess come from?

He tried to remember, but he couldn't. Obviously, he must've dropped the glass, but he couldn't _remember _dropping it. He couldn't remember anything that had happened right after he had said goodbye to Yukito. He was supposed to wash the dishes but… he turned his head towards the sink.

The dishes had been washed already.

But when?

His head started to pound once more, like there were a thousand hammers hammering against, inside, all over his skull.

Touya headed towards the medicine cabinet. Get some aspirin and then clean up the mess. That was what he needed to do. And then he'd call Sakura and check up on her. He had a feeling that something strange was going on.

He took a deep breath and not for the first time, wished that he could talk to his mother.

If there was one person who could help him out, it would be her.

----- -----

Exhaustion finally settled in on him and Syaoran fell asleep. When he woke up, she was kneeling in front of him, watching him with expectant eyes. He bolted up right, "I'm sorry, I fell asleep princess."

"It's okay. You looked so tired I didn't want to wake you up." She smiled brightly and Syoaran gingerly sat up, feeling some of the soreness of his muscles throb. It wasn't so painful that he couldn't deal with it but mostly, the reason why he could barely feel the stinging and the throbbing was because of her smile.

_Like the most gentle balm to his most painful wounds. _

Shaking his head, trying to rid of these thoughts that would constantly filter through his head, Syaoran looked around them, taking in the smallness of the room. The windows were boarded up, so he didn't know how long he had been asleep, but there were a few holes and gaps that he could see through and it looked like it was around dinner time, even though it was warm inside, almost stifling. He wiped at his brow, reminded of the Clow Country's desert heat. "Had I been asleep long, princess?"

"No. Just a few hours. You needed the sleep, so I just let you." There was an almost apologetic note in her voice and Syaoran had to look up, meeting her bright green eyes full on.

A man could drown in those green liquid pools and wouldn't mind. Syaoran wouldn't. He'd let himself be pulled in and… shaking his head once more, he gently patted Sakura's hand, the only few times he'd allow himself to touch her.

"Arigato." He mumbled softly. The memory of that word, of how he had gotten to know it, was rooted so deeply inside him. There was no other word that he loved best. Well, second best. He loved her name more.

No, not just her name. All of her.

She reddened slightly as though reading his thoughts and the pink tinge in her cheek slowly blossomed into a deeper shade of red.

He watched as Sakura looked away, averting her eyes. "I found some bread on my pockets," Sakura was saying and at this she chuckled lightly. "I wanted to give it to Mokona," she added softly and then remembering that Mokona wasn't with them, she lightly shook her head and turned her attention back to him, "but… we could eat it for dinner today, Syaoran-kun!" She exclaimed quite proudly, happy of her find. "I knew you'd be hungry and well," she paused, her cheeks coloring once more, "It's not a lot but…"

He saw her hand helplessly waving towards the corner of room and Syaoran slightly turned his head. On a small table, Sakura had laid out a few loaves of bread and some cheese: left over food from the last country that they had visited.

"It's not much…" She began but Syoaran quickly shook his head.

"I'm sorry; I forgot to bring some food." He mumbled, mortified of his un-thoughtfulness. She must have been starving! And yet she had waited for him to wake up and oh! He was so stupid! How could he have forgotten something as important as that?

"Oh, Syaoran-kun, really!" Sakura said with a heavy sigh, sitting down next to him. "Stop apologizing."

"But I should have…"

She moved so that she was now sitting infront of him, distracting him from saying more and then all of a sudden, her small hands were gripping his shoulders forcing him to look at her. "You apologize to me about everything even though it isn't your fault to begin with." She said, berating him. "And… and, I haven't done anything… anything at all to help find Mokona-chan and Fai-san and Kurogane-san!" There was a note of annoyance in her voice and Syaoran quickly apologized for annoying her.

"There you go again!" Sakura said. "I'm not even annoyed with you! I'm annoyed with me!" She let her arms fall back to her side as she let out a loud sigh.

"But princess!" Syaoran exclaimed.

She didn't seem to have heard him. "I'm so helpless all the time… I…" She paused and took a deep breath before dropping her eyes and biting down hard at her lower lip that was now slightly trembling. "I'm so sorry, Syaoran-kun, for being so troublesome."

"But princess! It's not your fault!" He exclaimed. "Please don't apologize…" Suddenly realizing the absurdity of their conversation, Syaoran stopped mid-sentence and let out a small chuckle.

Less than a heartbeat later, Sakura too was giggling softly with him. "See?" She said, smirking at him. "So, please, don't." She murmured softly, gazing at him with wide imploring green eyes.

Although her tone was light, Syaoran could still hear the hint of pain in her voice and he was very tempted to apologize again for hurting her, but he thankfully, managed to bite his tongue. He nodded silently and was rewarded by her smile.

Sakura brightened and she took his hands, squeezing them gently. "I knew you'd be too worried trying to look for Fai-san, Mokona-chan and Kurogane-san that you wouldn't even remember about eating." Sakura said.

"But I shouldn't have forgotten that the princess has not yet eaten." Syaoran interrupted, which probably wasn't the best idea as Sakura very mildly scowled at him.

"Princess…" Syaoran tried to reason, not sure where he'd start or if he could actually start, but with those startling green eyes staring down at him…

"Syaoran-kun," Sakura said, grabbing his hand and pressing it firmly, "there you again!" She exclaimed.

He finally relented. Syaoran didn't want to upset her more. "Ok." He mumbled dejectedly, bowing his head and staring at the grimy floor. He saw that their knees were almost touching and that if he or she moved closer…

Sakura seemed to have realized that the distance between them had become marginally smaller too, although Syaoran wasn't quite sure how that happened and she quickly pulled her hands back, laying them down against her lamp. She proceeded to clutch fistful of her dress, nervously clenching and unclenching her hands.

Syaoran wanted to hug her right there and then but had enough brain matter to keep still and wait for her to say something. It was obvious that she was trying to think up of something to say, the way her face would unconsciously scrunch up.

Silence surrounded them. Unsure now of what to say, Syaoran cleared his throat and wracked his brains for a comment or two that would make the princess smile. Mokona and Fai-san always seemed to know what to say, he on the other hand… well, he was just hopeless.

It was the princess who broke the silence. "Let's just eat, ok, Syaoran-kun?" Her tone softened as she pulled him to his feet and across the room to the food.

"Ok." Syaoran said, nodding, almost too eager to follow her.

When she glanced at him, her hand still inside his, she gave him a small, shy smile and Syaoran very gently squeezed her fingers, smiling softly as well.

"Everything will be alright, Syaoran-kun." She told him, "I have you with me."

----- -----

TBC

End note: Thanks for your time reading this update. I hope that you liked it! Er, well, they were all a bit OOC here, but then again, it's just a fanfic. LOL. Please let me know what you guys think! I really appreciate it! See you all next chapter!


	5. Chapter 5

Wings

Chapter 5

The coffee, severely black - Tomoyo could even see her own reflection if she looked into the cup - was served in the most exquisite Chinese porcelain. Her mother always used it when they had important guests in the house and Tomoyo definitely thought of her guests as important and… well, cute. Most especially their outfit and that white little…

"He's more of a thing, really." Kurogane said noticing the curious stare she was directing at the white fluffy bunny meets penguin sort of hybrid.

The Daidouji household had never entertained guest such as them. Travelers from another dimension, another time line. Her mother would definitely approve of the use of her precious fine Chinaware, Tomoyo thought with great pleasure.

"Mokona is not a thing!" It said, jumping from the couch it was sitting upon and perching itself on top of the table. It made a clumsy sort of pirouette, white bunny ears flopping at every turn. It stopped abruptly and faced her, giving her a small curtsey. It smiled at Tomoyo and Tomoyo smiled back, barely containing the urge to squee, grab it and hug it to death.

"Mokona is Mokona!" It declared, as though the statement was supposed to make sense.

Tomoyo was quickly reminded of the little yellow lion vacationing in China with Sakura-chan. Could they be related? Tomoyo wondered, smiling slowly. "Hello there, Mokona." She said, reaching out to gently pat Mokona in the head. "You're so cute."

"So are you! So are you!" Mokona said, jumping into her arms. "We're both so cute! We're both so cute!" It said almost childlike, patting her head, eyes large as saucers and shining with tears. Tomoyo giggled.

"Like I said," Kurogane interrupted, shrugging his shoulders with an air of measured grace, "he's more a freaky little thing."

"Oh, Kuro-chan, don't be like that! You might hurt Mokona's feeling." Fai said, admonishing Kurogane and, not for the first time, Tomoyo wondered if she could call the tall dark man Kuro-chan as well. Kuro-chan. It was so endearing! She turned her eyes towards him, just in time to see the vein in his temple pulsing.

"Don't call me that!" He roared, sending the cups rattling.

_Guess not_, Tomoyo thought as she quickly reached out to steady the cups, watching Kurogane from the corner of her eyes, tilting her head and trying to figure him out. He has the most direct and intense gaze and his eyes somehow reminded him of Sakura-chan's older brother – almost, always expressionless, unless you really looked deeply into them. Something about him was so… masculine and she had to admit that if he hadn't called her princess on the street, in front of practically all of Tomodea to hear, she wouldn't have invited them over for coffee.

Of course, there was the fact that she felt an almost instant and _familiar _connection with all three of them. It was as if she had known them – like from a dream or something. But the tug of familiarity was particularly stronger towards Kurogane.

Tomoyo made quick glances towards her guests and smiled to herself. Even with the brief introductions they were still strangers to her but they didn't seem dangerous at all, in fact when she had first seen them, they had seemed so lost. Apart from looking so utterly out of place, the other thing that made her notice them was that they had been walking around town with Mokona bouncing and flying all over the place. Being friends with Sakura and Kero, she was used to seeing strange things – things that logic could not explain, things that weren't normal. And Mokona certainly belonged to that category. She had been keen on getting Mokona out of the public eye as it's not everyday that the townspeople would be greeted by a talking white stuffed toy.

She had hurriedly explained that it was the latest model, battery operated with the newest state of the art microchip imbedded inside it. There were impressed "ooohhss" and "ahhhhsss" and when one of the locals tried to touch Mokona, Tomoyo decided she ought to take them somewhere else, away from the curious glances and insistent queries on where they could order their own Mokona's.

She didn't know why, but without any hesitation, she had grabbed Kurogane's hand (almost instinctively) and proceeded to drag him away from the growing crowd of onlookers. His other two companions had no choice but to follow. It wasn't until they were rounding off a corner when Mokona exclaimed that they ought to find Sakura and Syoran soon.

At the instant, she knew it with certainty: it was no coincidence that these strange people knew about Sakura and Syaoran. The mere mention of her friends' name was enough to send Tomoyo into a state of pure excitement. It had been years since anything interesting had happened to Tomodea. Perhaps this was another chance to create more lovely costumes for Sakura-chan! Oh, she couldn't wait! She had terrible missed the card-capturing days and in between going to school and trying to make a film-bio for Sakura-chan, life had became almost unbearably monotonous.

With that thought in mind, instead of taking them to a local café as she had originally planed, she decided to bring them to a safer place. Her house was the _only_ perfect location. She hadn't even thought twice about it. After all, if they were looking for Sakura and Syaoran, they can't be bad people, right?

Besides, bad people won't be caught dead carrying something as cute as Mokona. It would be against some universal law creed for vile and nasty villains.

And now here they were, sitting around the small antique mahogany table, looking at each other with big, bright expectant eyes. After a few seconds of silence, Fai shifted in his seat and delicately sipped his coffee. Kurogane, Tomoyo couldn't help but notice, was already finished with his cup, having drank it in one huge gulp. She re-filled it for him, suddenly aware of his eyes following her every move. _Oh, he has such an intense gaze_, Tomoyo thought, shivering pleasantly.

"So…" Fai began smiling his friendly smile, the topic of what exactly Mokona was supposed to be already forgotten. He leaned towards the table and regarded Tomoyo with dancing blue eyes. Everything about him seemed so cheerful, Tomoyo thought; even his hair was such a happy, sunny color.

"You've been friends with Sakura-chan for a long while now, yes?" Fai asked.

"Yes." Tomoyo said, nodding her head and smiling at the memory. "Since they moved here with her father and brother and we've been friends ever since. We've been friends forever!"

"But they are not the Sakura and Syoran that we're looking for." Kurogane interrupted rather impatiently. "I don't see why we need to talk about the Sakura and Syaoran of this world. They're not even here!"

She had told them that Sakura and Syaoran were out of the country, on a vacation. Mokona had been so terribly excited about the idea of Syaoran and Sakura vacationing in some other exotic land that it took both Kurogane (his threats) and Fai (his patient explanations) to assure Mokona that they were talking about a different Sakura and Syaoran. Mokona thought it was terribly funny and amusing while Tomoyo had been somewhat disappointed. It didn't seem like they'd be looking for any new cards or adventure anytime soon. There were after all many girls named Sakura – it was a popular name. She wasn't sure about Chinese boys' name, though.

It took them a while to establish that essentially, her Sakura and Syaoran and their Sakura and Syaoran are the same person.

"In theory, of course." Fai-san had said.

Tomoyo wrinkled her nose, still somewhat finding the idea of having two Syaorans and Sakuras – hers and theirs – all too confusing.

"Hm. You're right." Fai said, thoughtfully nodding his head, his blonde hair falling over his eyes, smiling like a Cheshire cat. "I just thought it interesting that we stumbled upon a world that has their very own Sakura and Syaoran. That has never happened before."

"Well, so what?" Kurogane asked in a challenging voice. "It's not the weirdest thing we've ever encountered." He argued, remembering the little bunnies and the twister with an attitude. That had been freaky.

"That's true." Fai agreed genially. He paused and then tilted his head, "But does that mean that there's another world that has another Fai and Kuro-nii in it?"

That erased the sneer off Kurogane's face.

"And Mokona too!" Mokona announced, jumping into Fai's lap.

"And Mokona too, ofcourse." Fai said, cuddling Mokona while Kurogane made gagging motions.

"Am I in other worlds too?" Tomoyo asked suddenly curious. Perhaps that would explain the connection she felt towards them.

"Well, yes, you are." Fai informed her, his startlingly blue eyes peering at her over the gold fringes of his bangs. "In fact, in Kuro-pipi's world, you're his princess and he's your run off the mill, psychotic black ninja."

"I was?" Tomoyo asked, clasping her hands in delight. A princess! She wondered what sort of princess she was. And Kurogane was her ninja!

"I am not a psychotic black ninja!" Kurogane raged. "You take that back!" He ordered Fai who merely chuckled, waving his hands dismissively in the air.

"Kuro-chan, psychotic black ninja!" Mokona echoed.

Kurogane looked like he was an inch close to stomping Mokona to death. His dark eyes were glittering with barely concealed rage. "Do you want to die?" He growled at Mokona who was still bouncing happily from one chair to another, flying past Kurogane's own head, as though tempting Kurogane to pluck him out of the air.

"You were really mean to him." Fai continued, ignoring Kurogane who was now trying to strangle Mokona.

Tomoyo was torn between listening to Fai and his story about Princess Tomoyo and her ninja and watching with alarm as Kurogane's wrapped his hand around Mokona's throat. "Oh, ano," Tomoyo began in a nervous voice, "uhm, Kurogane… I mean, Mister Kurogane sir, aren't you hurting him?"

"That's the idea." Kurogane said through gritted teeth.

Tomoyo winced. She was used to seeing violence of course. Touya-kun and Syaoran had muttered so many death threats to each other that she already has a well of information on how one can kill one with nothing but a plastic ruler. She turned worried ever over Mokona who was… actually giggling?

"That tickles! That tickles!" Mokona squealed with delight.

Tomoyo looked at Fai, her expression a mixture of confused amusement. "Are they always…"

"Always." Fai nodded somewhat gravely as they briefly watched Kurogane struggled with Mokono who by now was in tears from laughing so hard.

Tomoyo though she heard Kurogane mumble: "You. Just. Won't. Die." But she figured she had heard him wrong. She turned curious eyes back to Fai and asked about the Princess.

"Oh, yes. Well, Kurogane won't say much, but as far as I know, you sent him to other dimensions and put a curse in him too." Fai informed her.

Tomoyo gasped, clutching her heart. "I did?" She asked, sounding quite alarmed. Could she have done such things? How horrible of her!

"Shut up!" Kurogane snarled, not quite meeting anyone's eyes.

"And Kuro-minmin here, he's been trying to get back home. Back to you, or rather, back to his Tomoyo." Fai winked at her as he finished with his story.

Tomoyo went scarlet. She could feel her face suddenly growing warm. Well, what was she supposed to say to that? "Well, oh, goodness, I er, well… I… I hope he finds his way back…" she mumbled softy, not looking at any of her guests.

"You!" Kurogane said, practically shoving his finger against Fai's face. "You talk too much!"

"You've really hurt his feelings, you know." Fai went on, gently nudging Kurogane's finger away from his nose.

"Poor Kuro-minmin. Poor Kuro-minmin and his mean feelings!" Mokono chortled with glee.

"I'm so very sorry about that." Tomoyo said, swallowing hard before slowly turning her attention towards Kurogane, who suddenly stopped trying to squeeze in Mokona inside a small cup. "I'm… I'm sure, well, I think," Tomoyo frowned, trying to look deep into herself. Could she have done what Fai-san had told her? How could she? She looked into Kurogane's eyes and blushed. She wouldn't have done it out of whim, she was sure of it. "I… I mean, my other self is very regretful and… and… perhaps, maybe she did it for your own sake…" She trailed off, not sure where she had gotten that idea.

Kurogane straightened his back, crossed his arms defensively against his chest and looked away. "It doesn't matter." He said, his voice gruff and low. "I can still get home anyway, just as long as we have that freak." He said nodding towards Mokona who had managed to pull himself out of the cup.

"But…" Tomoyo began and was immediately silenced when Kurogane turned to look at her in the eyes. Everything about Kurogane seemed to be shrouded with mystery, as though his dark cloak was more than just as garment. It seemed more like a cover to his personality… the real Kurogane is underneath that cloak, Tomoyo thought, meeting his gaze.

"He has crazy notions about the soul and the heart and all that shit," Kurogane started and Tomoyo fought the urge to wince at his language. That was one thing she wasn't used to.

"But you're not the Princess," Kurogane continued, his voice suddenly calmer, almost kinder. "So there's no need to apologize and even if you are the Princess, there's still no need to apologize."

"Ok." Tomoyo murmured, forcing herself not to look away. Kurogane, like Touya-kun had that "Couldn't-Care-Less" attitude, but like Sakura's brother, Kurogane was always betrayed by his eyes. There was that gleam in them, that slanted look … that measured, calculating look… as though looking for some sign, something that she couldn't quite fathom. She wondered what it could be that Kurogane was looking for or in her.

"Do it again, Kuro-chi! Do it again!" Mokona squealed, flying past them.

Tomoyo blinked, shaking her head and suddenly finding herself being stared at, not by Kurogane, but by Fai, although with almost that same kind of look.

"Fai-san…" She began, unsure of what she was going to say and was thankfully interrupted, once again by Mokona.

"That was fun! That was fun!" Mokono continued, flying and bouncing and floating and jumping from one place to another. "Do it again, Kuro-chi! Do it again!"

Tomoyo could see Kurogane rolling his eyes and scowling darkly, as though contemplating on whether or not, this time, he was really going to shove Mokona all the way into the small cup, although how that could be possible, Tomoyo had no idea.

"But Kuro-nii is right!" Fai suddenly cried with a bit of dramatic flair that wasn't lost on Tomoyo. Kurogane, on the other hand, suddenly looked very bored and disinterested as though he had seen Fai and his affected behaviors one too many times.

"We really ought to find Syaoran and Sakura-chan soon." Fai said, suddenly turning serious.

It was like being in a crazy roller coaster ride, Tomoyo thought. So much… activity. So much action and energy around her. Oh, how she loved it! "I'll help you look for them!" Tomoyo volunteered, suddenly wanting to always be around them all the time: Childlike Mokona, loud and angry Kurogane, quiet and happy Fai-san. Oh, she was going to have an even better summer than Sakura-chan! And what an amazing film this experience would make! She better stack up on her video tapes!

"Really? Well, that's very kind of you." Fai-san said, interrupting her thoughts.

Tomoyo turned to face him, all smiles and eager to start looking for their Sakura and Syaoran. "It's alright. I am not very busy… and oh!" Tomoyo said, her eyes glittering with barely suppressed glee. Oh, why hadn't she thought about it! Oh, how wonderful! "You really can't walk around town wearing those." She said, fingering Fai-san's immaculate white robe. How soft! She must have this sort of material soon! Oh, the many clothes that she could make for Kurogane and Fai and even for Mokona!

"We were getting a lot of weird looks today." Fai agreed, looking down at his own clothes, completely missing the almost maniacal look of rapture in Tomoyo's face.

"That's because Mokona is so cute!" Mokona chirped in a sing-song voice. "Mokona so kawaii!"

"It's because you're a battery operated thing." Kurogane said, smirking.

"You don't even know what batteries are supposed to be, Kuro-chi." Fai pointed out, poking Kurogane's chest with his finger.

What a pair! Tomoyo thought. A bit like Touya and Yukito, she thought fondly, watching as Kurogane sputtered and choked. She noticed the faint blush rising in his cheeks and noted that he was extremely good looking, in a rough and dark way. She turned her head towards Fai and nodded appreciatively. Fai's really _beautiful_ too – in a more delicate almost feminine sort of way. So tall and sleek and he'd look good in anything blue maybe even something paler than sky blue, Tomoyo thought, tilting her head. And as for Kurogane, well, black suited him fine, but perhaps he could pull off the color green – dark forest green, perhaps? She must look into that.

She clasped her hand and grinned, "I shall make you some new clothes to wear tomorrow!" She exclaimed.

"What's wrong with our clothes?" Kurogane asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Well, nothing of course, it's just that… it looks a little odd…for the season, I mean. It's summer and people are in their summer wear." Pictures of Kurogane, Fai and Mokona modeling the many summer attire flashed through Tomoyo's mind and she turned beet-red at an image of a shirtless Kurogane and Fai wearing board shorts. Oh, could she possibly drag them to look for Sakura and Syaoran at the beach? She must. She really must.

Oho-ho-ho-ho-ho. And she was going to make sure that she capture it all in film!

"Oh, that is just perfect Tomoyo-chan!" Fai said, smiling brightly, unaware of Tomoyo's plans for them. "But," he paused, as though suddenly remembering something, "isn't that a bit too much? You've already given us food and coffee."

"Please, just call me Tomoyo." She requested. "And, hotels can be very expensive. We have many extra rooms and you could all stay here until you could find your Syaoran and Sakura." She offered graciously.

"Their not ours," Kurogane said, scowling, "you make it sound like…"

"Like we're their parents?" Fai asked, teasing Kurogane. "I'd be the mother of course, I'm more nurturing and kind hearted after all."

"Kuro-pipi, mean father!" Mokona said, voicing out his opinion on Kurogane's parenting skills.

Kurogane swore underneath his breath, the vein in his forehead looking as though it would burst in a few more seconds. Mokona happily jumping up and down didn't seem to help matters.

"That's really very nice of you." Fai said, completely deaf to Kurogane's mad ranting. "Thank you so much for your help, but we don't want to be so troublesome."

"It's no trouble at all." Tomoyo assured them. And besides, she had never had so much fun in just one day and they were all just sitting here for tea! How exciting it would be once they start looking for Sakura and Syaoran. "I really do hope that we find Syaoran and Sakura soon." She said, suddenly remembering that more than anything it was important that they find their Sakura and Syoaran, that should come first.

For the first time, Mokona looked suddenly sad and worried. "I hope they're both ok."

Kurogane cleared his throat, "Hn. The brat better not get themselves into trouble." He said, which only made Mokona bawl even louder. Fai made wordless cooing sounds, trying to cheer up the distressed Mokona.

"I'm sure they're alright." Tomoyo said, "Your Syaoran and Sakura." She said brightly, handing them a plateful of sweets and pastries, little cakes the shape of hearts and wings, all in the shade of pink.

"Oh, food!" Mokona exclaimed, forgetting his tears.

"We'd start looking for them first thing in the morning." She assured them. "Don't worry. They'll take good care of each other."

"You're right." Fai said, accepting the plate and smiling serenely, "They always do."

----- -----

"Do you think they're alright?" Sakura whispered, her voice sounding almost too delicate, too soft for Syaoran to hear.

Night had fallen and outside the crickets and cicadas had started their singing. The day had ended, almost as abruptly as it had began, Syaoran thought. Time seemed to have passed a lot faster that usual, like the grains of sand falling quickly down an hour glass. All he could remember was that all afternoon, he and Sakura had sat together, talking and not talking at the same time. Sure, they had talked about the past worlds they've been too, laughing at the sillier, more innocent worlds and becoming suddenly silent as they remember the more dangerous ones, the sad worlds that they had stumbled upon. They seemed to be avoiding a certain topic, he didn't know what exactly.

Well, Syaoran thought frowning, he was trying not to talk about their past in particular. Somehow, during the course of their travels, Sakura figured out that he knew more about what had happened to her than Fai and Kurogane and that there was, between the three men, a secret that they shared. She had once insisted that he tell her what it was – the she must know too, so that she too could help. He had assured her that it was nothing that she should worry about at all. He had asked her that she trust him and always, when he pulled the Trust card, Sakura would back away.

Syaoran would feel guilty about it. It wasn't as though he was lying to her but not telling her was also almost like a lie. He hated it, deceiving her. Even if it was for her own good. How would she feel if he told her that her memories of him was to be the sacrifice?

She'd get mad. Syaoran knew this already. She'd ask him what right did he have to make the decision for her. But she was dying and there was nothing else that the witch would accept as a bargain. And more than being angry, she'd be sad for him. She'd be sorry for him and Syaoran would never ever let that happen. He'd rather die.

He hated _this _– this strained relationship they have. He hated it almost as much as he hated the winds that had taken her wings and scattered it so far away from her.

Even though Sakura seemed to have accepted his answer and his constant request for her to trust in him, she still tried once in a while to make him tell her more about her past. She never pushed him for any details, but he could see her green eyes turning darker whenever she asked about her world and why he knew so much about it.

He had been successful at avoiding the subject about the country of Clow, but as the days passed, as they found more of her feathers, Sakura started getting more and more curios, wanting and needing to know things.

"It feels like little holes, Syaoran-kun." She once told him tearfully and that just about completely shattered his soul. Sakura had never looked as lonely as she did that time and there was nothing else that he could do to take that loneliness away from her. Even if he had retrieved all of her memories, she will still feel those little holes and it would be because of him – the faceless boy in her memories.

His only reply had been a broken: "I'm sorry, Princess." For what else was he supposed to say to that?

Syaoran didn't know how long he could keep on giving vague answers. Being silent didn't work anymore as she tend to stare pleadingly at him that sometimes, he would relent and tell her some small detail ("The apples in Clow Country are colored gold, your highness." "Your brother, the King, doesn't like me very much, princess.") nothing really significant, but enough to satisfy her curiosity.

"Syaoran-kun, do you think they're alright?" Sakura repeated her question, this time more firmly, as though making sure that he heard her, like he did the first time.

The truth was, Syaoran could hear not just her voice, but even her heartbeat. Even if he was keeping his usual "safe" distance from her, he could always, always hear her heart beating and tonight, it was thumping really, really slowly.

They were lying on the floor of the temple. Sakura had used her robe as a pillow of some sort (she refused to take Syaoran's robe as well, insisting that he used it) and they were staring into the complete darkness that surrounded them. That he hadn't found any signs of Kurogane and Fai and Mokona was also another topic that he didn't wish to discuss, because Syaoran knew that Sakura was worrying about their friends.

It took him almost a full second to finally answer. This was one question that he was going to answer honestly and he didn't want to sound as though he was just trying to lessen her worrying. He knew that even if Fai and Kurogane and Mokona were right in front of them, heartily eating a sumptuous meal for 20 people, Sakura would still worry about them. She worried about everyone, completely forgetting about herself.

"I'm sure they are fine." Syaoran finally answered, sounding confident.

"I think they're arguing right now." Sakura said and Syoaran could hear her amused chuckle. Well, maybe she wasn't _that_ worried about their friends, Syaoran thought, allowing the faintest smile to cross his lips. Sakura had seen Fai and Kurogane fight and perhaps she too knew what their friends were truly capable of.

"Fai-san and Kurogane-san, they argue a lot, don't they?" Sakura continued, her voice sounding slightly drowsy. "But I think they're real good friends." He heard her yawning, was aware that she was trying to hide it from him. "I wonder how's Mokona doing." Sakura was now half-mumbling the words. "I hope they're having fun while looking for us."

The tone in her voice changed and Syaoran immediately noticed the melancholic quality that had seeped in. Of course, she would miss Fai and Kurogane and Mokona, Syaoran thought, fighting down the urge to be slightly jealous.

"I'm sorry, I didn't find them." Syaoran mumbled again. "We'll look for them tomorrow." This was greeted by a second of silence and just when he was about to call out Sakura's name, thinking that she had fallen asleep, he sensed her movement. But in the dark, he hadn't anticipated her direction and the next thing he knew, she was looming over her, her green eyes bright and fierce.

"We?" There was a pleasant almost excited tone in Sakura's voice that made him want to reach up and tangle his hands in her hair, just to make sure he wasn't dreaming this. She leaned in further and her body brushed against him. Syaoran had to bite his lips to keep himself from gasping.

"Really, Syaoran-kun? You'd take me with you outside, tomorrow?"

"Yes." Syaoran said, finding his voice, wincing at how husky is sounded. He cleared his throat before continuing, "I'm sorry I left you all alone here." Syaoran apologized again. "But I thought that it would be safer if… if… and… and…"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. Sakura had thrown her arms around him, her weight settling oh-so wonderfully against him. Syaoran was too stunned to even yelp in surprise or die of heart attack.

Sakura pressed her face against his chest, the top of her head brushing against his chin. He could smell her hair – and it smelled something, something… really sweet – jasmine? and gut wrenchingly familiar.

Home.

Sakura smelled like home.

"I'm so glad Syaoran-kun!" Sakura said and then, her voice turning softer, she added, "It was so very lonely here while you were gone."

Slowly, carefully, as though he was afraid that she would suddenly turn into wings that would fly away and escape from him, he lifted his arms and wrapped it around her waist.

_I don't want you to ever be lonely again, Sakura. _

Syaoran could feel her breath against his skin, even with the clothes that he was wearing and for the first time since they had left Kingdom of Clow, he felt at home.

His arms tightened around her and without the usual knowing looks and glances that he could feel from Fai and Kurogane, Syaoran allowed himself to hold on to her – his princess, his most precious.

----- -----

TBC

Author's note: Well, yes, I know it's been taking me ages to update this fic and I really feel rotten about that. I hope that you all will forgive me. It hasn't been beta-ed yet, but as soon as I have the beta-ed chapter, I shall post it right away. I do promise to work harder so that I could update this fic more often. I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. Many, many thanks for reading and please do let me know what you guys think. Need help badly. Hehehe.


	6. Chapter 6

Wings

Chapter 6

Yukito would always visit around lunch time mostly because Touya, amazingly enough, was a better cook than his father, although he very rarely cooked and usually it would only be for Yuki or his sister. Once, he walked in on Syaoran eating the lunch he had prepared for Sakura. He had asked him, murderous glare and all, to spit it all out. The boy, of course, the little impertinent cretin that he was, swallowed everything. That was the closet time that Touya ever came to pummeling the brat into oblivion. No one eats the food he prepared for his sister and lived to see the next day.

Sakura had intervened, of course, saying that it was only to prove to Syaoran how good of a cook her brother was. If it hadn't been for the look of pride in Sakura's eyes when she had said that no one could cook better than her onii-chan, well, blood would have been spilled.

"Do you think they're alright?" Touya asked as he flipped through channels in a dizzying frenzy: three channels per 3.8 seconds, or at least according to the yellow stuffed toy. Apparently, the angry little plushie actually had a brain and keen sense of observation.

That or Kero was a filthy good little liar. Touya paused, mid-thought and grimaced. He could not be missing the stupid yellow sorry excuse for a stuff toy slash guardian. That would be a very low point in his life.

"I'm sure they are." Yukito answered as he looked up from the book that he was reading. "We could call Sakura-chan again." He suggested in concern, pushing his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. "The phone lines are working fine now." He added as an after thought.

Touya waved his hand dismissively in the air, trying to brush Yuki's worry aside. Yuki, who was usually very chirpy and upbeat, especially after talking to Sakura on the phone, still looked mildly troubled. Well, Touya couldn't blame him. It hadn't been a particularly happy phone call today.

Touya had asked Yukito to call Sakura back after she had magnificently slammed the phone while Touya was in a middle of an equally magnificent rant. He let Yukito do the apologizing and the explaining, which apparently cooled Sakura down. After the call ended, Yukito has asked him what happened and Touya, not having finished his rant, started up again. It was, in Touya's opinion, Sakura's entire fault as she had forgotten to call him that morning. The first time she had broken a promise she made.

"She didn't forget." Yukito said interrupting his thoughts. "Sakura-chan tried to call." He reminded him, gently placing a hand on his arm as Touya snorted resentfully. "It's a shame that the Li's phone lines had been damaged by the storm last night." Yukito continued, ignoring the sullen look on Touya's face. "Even the cellular phone lines had problems. And see," Yukito said, nodding as Touya quickly passed through several news channels. "It's even on the news."

Touya knew about the storm in Hong Kong, thank you very much. He didn't need to watch it on TV for the hundredth time. He had been watching the news all night long and had anticipated that the storm would lash out even when weather reporters had calmly dismissed it as: "Hong Kong will experience _rain shower with some thunderstorms._"

"Yeah, some thunderstorm that was." Touya grounded out through clenched teeth.

"Well, Sakura said she didn't even notice there was a storm outside" Yukito offered, smiling slowly.

Touya made a face. She was obviously lying and Yukito was too nice not to notice when he was being lied to, although it was a sweet little white lie and Sakura probably meant well, not wanting to worry Yukito. "The Kaiju hates thunderstorms." Touya muttered, as though it explained everything.

"I'm sure Syaoran-kun found a way to comfort her." Yukito said, almost but not quite able to hide the mischievous glint in his eyes.

Touya glared at him. Yukito may look and seem all sweet and innocent, but when he wanted to, he could be downright annoying. His silver haired friend had deftly mastered the art of subtlety.

Yukito could barely contain the knowing smile blossoming from his lips. "What is it that you don't like about Syaoran-kun?" He asked, putting the book down on the table, staring at him with wide expectant gray eyes.

Touya held up his right hand and started ticking off the annoying things that the Gaki was known to do: "Arrogant. Insufferable. So rude. Always glaring. Mumbles a lot." Touya paused and made a face, "It doesn't help that half of the time, I think he's actually cursing me in Chinese."

"He does sort of remind me of someone I know." Yukito chuckled, nodding his head.

Touya frowned wondering who Yukito meant. He gave Yukito a questioning look and Yukito raised his eyebrows, looking pointedly at him. It took Touya a heartbeat to realize that Yukito meant him and he let a loud gasp. "Me!" He exclaimed in indignation, looking quite horrified.

Yukito broke into uproarious laughter.

"It's not funny." Touya protested, "I am nothing like that brat!"

"Well, sometimes, you are exactly like him, To-ya." Yukito informed him.

Touya "hmped!" and crossed his arms across his chest, feeling quite betrayed by his very own bestfriend.

Noticing the look in Touya's eyes, Yukito relented, somewhat. "He reminds me of you because Syaoran really loves Sakura-chan."

Once again, a muffled "hmped!" quickly followed by the often repeated remark: "He's taking her away."

"It's just vacation, To-ya." Yukito said, even though he knew what exactly Touya meant. "Didn't she promise that she'll be back by Friday?"

Touya didn't answer. He was well aware that he was acting childishly and foolishly but no one could really understand his relationship with his sister. He had taken care of her all of her life and he wasn't going to give her up and let some Chinese brat take care of her just because… just because…

"It's called growing up, Touya." His father once told him over dinner as they waited for Sakura to return home from one her dates with Syaoran. "Sometimes, growing up means you have to let go of certain things and persons."

The talk did nothing to alleviate Touya's indignant protests. He understood what growing up and letting go meant and that he will eventually have to do just that. Just not now. And just not to the brat. What did the Gaki know about Sakura anyway? What did he know about taking care of her? Did he know what to give Sakura when she has the fever (milk with honey) or what her favorite food is (strawberry cake)?

"You worry too much about her, To-ya." Yuki said affectionately. "Sakura-chan's a big girl now. She can take care of herself, besides, she says it's all sunshine there already. Bright blue skies! A day perfect for outdoor activities!" Yukito exclaimed, beaming at him. "They're going to have a picnic today and visit cafes and bookstores."

Touya watched half amused as Yukito clapped his hands excitedly, happy for Sakura and her bright blue skies over at Hong Kong. He was glad that Yukito didn't seem worried anymore. The last thing he wanted was to drag his friend into whatever sort of mood he was in today – which wasn't at all bright and sunshiny.

"We could go out for a walk too." Yukito suggested when he saw that Touya was still mumbling incoherently.

"Or bike." Touya replied, trying to play along. He was sure that Sakura was safe and sound, unharmed by the storm. If he wasn't sure of that, he would still be on the phone drilling Sakura if she was fine. He could detect a lie coming from her and she did sound fine on the phone, if not a little a sleepy, but that was understandable. When she was little, during storms, she'd be so scared by the flashing lightning and explosive thunders that Touya always left his door open so she could come running into his room. She'd always say: "Onichan, the sky's so very angry!" And Touya would always draw the blanket around her and soothe her worries away. Of course, it had been years since Sakura came running inside his room, scared by thunderstorms, but Touya knew she always cowered under her covers and he had always made it a point to check up on her, either by asking if she wanted company or a cup of hot chocolate.

"Or that." Yukito said, warming up to the subject. "Or maybe we could visit Tomoyo-chan." Yukito was saying, beaming up at him.

"The Daidouji's always have good pastries and imported teas around." Touya added, even though his heart wasn't on it. "It would be nice to bond over the newly delivered gowns from Paris." He said, with a little a smirk. "And hey! Maybe we could try them all on!"

Yukito wagged a finger at him, "Now you're just being mean, To-ya."

Touya mumbled his apology as he turned the TV off. He carelessly tossed the remote control on the next empty couch – Sakura's couch – and watched lackadaisically as it tumbled twice before finally lying face down.

"We could always just go to the mall." Yukito suggested, sensing his disinterest.

"Erm, I don't think I'm ready for another trip to the mall with her." Touya muttered, almost to himself. He remembered the last time Sakura and Tomoyo had manage to drag him out of the house. The girls had tried to engage him in a conversation of some sort, which revolved mainly on colors and Touya thought that there were far too many shades of pink and yellows and blues and greens to discuss – and if he had to listen to another argument on whether or not periwinkle was more of a blue than a violet, his head would explode.

"We don't have to invite Tomoyo-chan."

He could feel Yukito's eyes drilling holes at the side of his head. He let out a small sigh and shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to invite her," Touya began, "it's just that…" He looked at Yukito, at lost for word. "It's just that…" he began, trying once again but failing miserably. Giving up, Touya just shrugged his shoulder, as though the gesture was enough to explain everything.

Yukito was silent for a few seconds, before turning serious, tilting his head, studying him with his gray eyes. "I'm sure that Syaoran is taking care of her…is that what's bothering you?"

"No." Touya answered tersely, almost immediately. It really wasn't that. It was well… it was the dream. He had briefly dreamt of those damned wings again, but it still didn't mean anything to him, especially now that in his last dreams, they were all just floating about, nudging him once in a while, as though urging him to do something. But what was he supposed to do with a bunch of feathers exactly?

"You won't tell me then?" Yukito asked imploringly.

Again, Touya could feel those familiar gray eyes boring into him, as though Yukito was trying to see what was going on inside his head. A whole lot of fluffy white wings - that was what was inside his head. Why bother Yukito with such foolishness?

"It's nothing." Touya finally said. "Never mind. Look, let's go to the market instead." He said. Yukito was probably right. He needed to get out of this house. A bit of sunshine and exercise, that was all that he needed and hopefully, those darned wings would just fly away and leave him alone. "Sakura'll be home by Friday" he continued, not letting Yukito interrupt him, "and I was thinking, maybe you can help me make something for her. You know, like a cake or something sweet. Kami knows the girl could eat anything that has sugar on it."

For a moment, Yukito didn't said anything. He seemed to be trying to decide whether or not he should ask more, prod more but after a second or two, he finally shrugged and smiled slowly, the knowing, teasing look was back in his eyes. "I think you're sweet To-ya" Yukito said, poking him in the ribs.

Touya looked aghast. Did Yukito just call him sweet? Kinomoto Touya, sweet? He quickly, vehemently shook his head. "I'm tough and Sakura should know that." Touya said, making sure that he sounded tough. "It would do her some good if she remembered that I had taken care of her when she was just this small!" He said, gesturing with his hand, indicating Sakura's height when she was a toddler.

Yukito chuckled and shook his head. "Don't be so jealous of Syaoran, To-ya. Sakura-chan loves you differently."

"Who says I'm jealous of him?" Touya asked irritably.

Yukito, sensing that he was threading on dangerous territory, quickly changed the topic. "How does strawberry cake sound?" He asked instead, raising his eyebrows up in question.

Touya considered this for a few minutes. He frowned, looking genuinely at lost. "It would make tons of mess, right?"

"Uhm," Yukito paused, wondering why Touya was asking the question. He could always help with the cleaning if that was Touya was worried about. "Well, yeah. But I could always help with..."

But Touya had cut him off, slapping his hand against his thigh in a gesture of triumph. "Good!" He exclaimed, grinning mischievously. "The Kaijuu's going to do some serious house cleaning when she gets back. That will teach her a lesson!"

"Touya, you never give up, do you?" Yukito asked, laughing softly as Touya pouted and stared moodily across the room. His friend could pretend all he want, Yukito thought, but he knew that there were things bothering him. Not just Sakura being away from home, but something else. Yukito wondered what it could be, determined to help Touya whatever his troubles might be. He was, as always, just probably trying to spare him from worrying too much. How very sweet of him, Yukito thought, smiling to himself. Despite all of Touya's tough talk and rough exterior, Yukito knew that he was quite possibly, the sweetest person in the whole of Tomodea – after all, he didn't know anyone else who worried too incessantly about their sister or their friends.

"What's so funny?" Touya asked in a suspicious tone, staring at him with guarded eyes.

"I just remembered the first time Syaoran-kun took Sakura out for dinner." Yukito said, eyes sparkling at the memory. "They went to that French restaurant and we were there working the night shift."

"Don't remind me." Touya mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"They ordered strawberry cake for dessert, didn't they?"

Touya snorted and looked away. "Did they? I don't remember at all."

But Yukito was sure that Touya remembered. After all, it had been him who had baked that strawberry cake for Sakura and Syaoran and whether or not Touya would ever admit it that was the night he had grumpily gave his sister away to Syaoran.

----- -----

As promised, Syaoran let Sakura come with him to look for their friends. They ventured out and wandered the streets of Tomodea: him with great caution and the princess with great curiosity. It was summer in Tomodea and it seemed like everyone was out to have a picnic or ride along bikes and other objects that moved around with impressive speed. The more they got to discover the place the more Syaoran found himself liking it. The people all seemed nice and friendly. The weather was quite pleasant, not the scorching heat of the desert that he was used to and not the biting cold of Jade Country. But even though the place felt strangely familiar, almost like home without the sand dunes, he barely let his guard down.

After the incident yesterday with the man from the flower shop, Syaoran didn't feel confident enough that nothing about the place could or would pose any immediate threats against them - which was exactly why he had veered away from the flower shop and instead had led the Princess towards the park on the opposite side of the store.

They had gone through the park twice with nothing uneventful really happening. They received a couple of odd stares or two, probably because of what they were wearing. He couldn't do anything about that, though. He might try to exchange their clothes, if needed.

Unfortunately, there were still no signs of Fai-san and Kurogane-san or even Mokona. Syaoran wanted to move along and try a different place. He was just about to suggest it but the princess seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, he couldn't quite bring himself to tell her that they had to leave. It wouldn't hurt if they went around the park one more time.

Sakura stayed by his side, her arms brushing ever so lightly against his elbows. She sometimes made cooing noises when she spotted pretty things. A few minutes ago, it had been a giant bunny that caught her attention. The animal, which was in fact a human dressed as bunny (Syaoran realized this almost instantly) was holding what looked liked floating colorful flowers, abnormal in size. It took Syaoran a few seconds to recognize what they were.

"Balloons! Balloons!" A small girl standing next to Sakura was pointing joyously at the balloons.

The bunny-man handed one to the little girl and then, taking one look at the princess, he gave her one as well. Syaoran had momentarily felt a tug of protectiveness, akin almost a little to jealousy as Sakura giggled and bowed her thanks. He moved to stand closer to the Princess and she quickly noticed, turning her head to look at him, her eyes bright and that was when it hit him.

He realized sadly that it had been some time now since he had heard her laughing like that. So carefree and happy and he longed to hear her laugh like that more often. See the smile in her lips reach her eyes.

"Look, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura said, glancing up at the balloon hovering between them. He followed her gaze and watched the blue balloon as it gently, almost playfully, nodded with the wind.

"It's the color of the sky." Sakura was saying and when he looked back down again, he was surprised to find himself almost nose to nose with her. She had moved forward without him noticing and now he could certainly smell the scent of her hair and feel the light caress of her breath against his neck and chin. Syaoran was just about to take a step back when Sakura grabbed his hand and quietly, shyly turned her face away, never letting go of his hand as she silently led him away from the bunny-man and the little girl.

They held hands as they slowly made their way towards one of the empty benches. Sakura sat down first and tilted her head up, smiling at him. "Let's sit for a while, Syoran-kun." Her voice was gentle and Syaoran found himself being tugged down to sit beside her.

"Is the princess tired already?" He asked with concern, watching her closely as she shook her head, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. She is so very beautiful, Syaoran thought, his chest aching a little.

"No." Sakura said, turning to look at him, meeting his gaze. "I just want to sit with you that's all. Is that ok?"

"Of course it is, princess." Syaoran said, almost wincing. Being this formal with her hadn't hurt this much before. The more he called her princess, the more he was reminded of the fact that they were from different classes. Even in their world, they lived so differently from each other. She was a princess and he was an adopted son of a foreigner. He might as well have lived in a different world too, Syaoran thought sadly, quickly looking away.

He thought about how the old man had greeted him yesterday, remembering now what Yuuko had said when they first embarked on this journey. It seemed all so complicated when she explained how Hitsuzen worked. In essence, Syaoran had come to realize, it only meant one soul with a thousand different lives, a thousand different worlds and a thousand more different possibilities.

They have met several people from several worlds, a lot of them they had already met from another world or two. Sometimes, it was as confusing as hell and sometimes, it totally made sense. So, Syaoran thought, glancing at Sakura who was still holding his hands, why would it not make sense if they had other lives too? Other selves in other worlds?

If there was a Syaoran here and from the way the man had mentioned Sakura's name earlier, it seemed that their other selves know each other as well. Syaoran half smiled, half frowned. It sounded almost twice as confusing, as he tried to work out how exactly _that_ worked but somehow, the fact that Syaoran of Tomodea had a Sakura of his own, well it gave him a small amount of pleasure.

He wondered how the Syaoran and Sakura of this place were related. If they were friends or perhaps even… dare he think it? Syaoran swallowed hard. Perhaps, perhaps they were even lovers here. Something in the old man's voice and comment suggested it anyway.

Syaoran blushed furiously at the mere thought, hoping that the princess was too busy gawking at the a giant sculpture of a blue animal of some sort with it's tongue lolling out (he wondered in passing if the sculpture was a god that the people here worshipped, the historian in him was almost jumping up and down with curiosity) to notice him.

Perhaps, in this life, in this world at least…

"Oh, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura said, turning towards him, her eyes so incredibly bright. "It's so very pretty here."

Syaoran could feel his lips slightly turning up. "It is." He agreed, nodding his head, keeping his stare on her face, the golden-brown hair falling across her forehead, the greenness of her eyes framed by thick lashes, the pinkness of her cheeks and lips. "So very pretty." He mumbled once again, his hand unconsciously reaching out to touch her face.

When he realized what he was doing it was already too late, he already had her face cradled at the palm of his hand and her soft cheek was gently pressing against his fingertips. Syaoran's heart suddenly stopped beating – no wait – there it was! It started up again, this time, hammering painfully against his rib cage.

His thumbed moved in its own accord, stroking the smoothness of her skin. He heard her sigh, saw her blink lazily up at him.

Oh, no, oh no, oh no… what was he doing? Syaoran thought, the nervous thudding of his heart getting louder by the second. He couldn't… couldn't take his hand off… he should, he really, really should. Why can't he move away?

It would be so easy to just… to just lean forward and perhaps… perhaps let his lips skim the surface of the princess' cheeks…

Syaoran wondered how it would taste like. How it would feel like.

Sakura seemed to have stopped breathing as well. She was looking up at him with big, round eyes. Green eyes that were scared and bright and so, so very inviting… and in Syaoran's mind, he could clearly see himself leaning closer, Sakura meeting him halfway and slowly, very slowly… her lips, his lips, their lips…

But a commoner kissing a princess!

The thought entered his mind swiftly, brutally and it immediately shattered whatever daydream he had. It felt as though someone had punched him in the chest. With a sharp intake of breath, Syaoran immediately pulled back as though Sakura's very nearness burned him. He jumped to his feet, breathing hard, berating himself for that slip.

A mistake. It would've been an awful mistake if he had allowed himself to… to…

"Syaoran-kun?"

Sakura's strangled, almost lost, voice calling his name with that dreadful, hateful _kun_ was almost like having someone kick him in the gut. It just proved that he had to no right to even _think_ of kissing her.

"Hime," Syaoran began, swallowing past the large, burning lump lodged in his throat. "Hime, please… forgive me." Syaoran said, sounding just as broken and lost as his princess. "I… I think… I think we should go somewhere else to look for Kurogane and Fai and Mokona." He couldn't bring himself to look at her and he missed seeing the flash of pain and disappointment in her eyes. He kept his stare on his dirty, beat up old shoes. The many worlds it had walked upon, the worlds he would still have to walk upon… and still, even with all that, she would never remember him…

"But… but… Syaoran-kun," Sakura stammered helplessly.

He could feel her eyes searching his face and he forced himself to look at her, forced a fake, cheerful smile on his face. "It's alright." Syaoran said, wishing that there was something he could do to take away the lost and confused look that Sakura was giving him. "We'll find them, I promise." Syaoran said, even though it wasn't what Sakura's eyes were asking from him.

Sakura gazed at him for a full second, her eyes searching his face and when she didn't find what it was she was looking for, she took a deep breath and then, without another word, she took his hand again. Syaoran tensed briefly, not sure that if touching her right now was a good idea, but her hands felt so awfully cold and he couldn't help but gently squeeze her hands, a small reassurance of some sort that nothing has changed between them. Things will _never _change between the two of them.

He knew where to draw the line and he would never again cross it.

"Let's go, Syaoran-kun." Sakura said, smiling up at him. The same smile that wouldn't reach her eyes. Syaoran wanted desperately to say something, do anything to make her smile again, her bright, real smile, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do right now.

He nodded his head and together, hand in hand, they started their search for their friends. It took Syaoran a few seconds to realize that the Princess' blue balloon was gone.

In the middle of their almost, near-kiss, she had let go of the string and it had quietly flown away, out of their reach, so very much just like her wings.

----- -----

Tomoya smiled ecstatically. It had been such a long while since her last creation. Her last magnificent opus had been ages ago, she had been somewhat nervous that she might not be up to the challenge, but she seemed to have worked another wonder. Of course, she had to remind herself that she could not make those old wonderful costumes, it had to be something ordinary, something to let Fai-san and Kurogane and Mokono blend in with the crowd. She had succeeded with created the more normal clothes, although having Fai-san and Kurogane blend in with the crowd was somewhat futile.

She glanced at Fai in pale, pale blue - it was almost white – long sleeved silk polo shirt with intricate pale blue lines embroidered in the side, slithering towards the back where it formed a sort of wing-like drawing. He wore nice-fitting white jeans and he looked so elegant. Almost like a prince! Especially with those golden hair of his, it was almost like he had a golden halo around his head.

She turned her gaze towards Kurogane who was wearing a snug-fitting black jean and he had on a dark, dark green – it was almost black – v-necked shirt. It also had the same intricate bold red lines embroidered in the side and at the back she had sewn the word Black Ninja in Kanji. She had contemplated sewing: My Black Ninja, but decided against it, which was a good thing as Kurogane, it turned out, could read the lettering in his shirt. Tomoyo was surprised by this and was silently thankful that she hadn't added the possessive word: _My_ or else she would have been forced to run back to her room, blushing to the root of her hair.

She enjoyed making their clothes so much and they had been so pleasant to dress! Not at all like Syaoran-kun who grunted and scowled whenever she tried to make him wear something other than his usual shirts and jeans. Fai-san and Kurogane had been happy and thankful to wear her creations. Although, Fai had been more vocal about it, repeatedly saying that she had real talent and an eye for fashion. Kurogane had merely wordlessly nodded his thanks, but she had seen him standing by the full length mirror, looking quite pleased with himself. He was so adorable! Tomoyo thought, chuckling softly.

The two had been getting a lot of smiles and winks from various girls; some were even her former schoolmates and classmates. A few of them had pulled her aside to ask who her companions were. Tomoyo, giggling softly, had told them that it was a secret and at one point, she had even coyly answered: "they're mine."

Her real masterpiece however was Mokona.

She made a slow pirouette and she heard the light, amused chuckle from Mokona and the whispered: "Again, Tomoyo-chan, twirl me again!"

She felt obliged to obey Mokona's request and she made another slow turn, her dark hair flying around her. Mokona, or rather, her backpack, giggled softly. It was pretty ingenious, even Kurogane thought so to.

"Mokono likes floating backward, Tomoyo-chan!"

"Ssshhh, manju, keep it down!" Kurogane hissed irritably while Fai looked at Kurogane in mock horror and said: "Why, Kuro-chi, are you talking to Tomoyo-chan's bag?"

Kurogane uttered a couple of obscenities before stalking off.

"He's not mad, is he?" Tomoyo asked worriedly, as she stared at Kurogane's broad back.

"Kuro-chan is always like that. You should see him when he's really mad, the vein in his temple suddenly has a life of its own." Fai shook his head and patted Tomoyo on her shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze, silently reassuring her that it was nothing personal. "He's just a little bit disappointed that there's no one to fight in this world." Fai informed her, winking.

Tomoyo nodded, well, ninjas do fight a lot, that made sense. Perhaps Kurogane was just missing his home although, Tomoyo scrunched up her nose, Kurogane really shouldn't like fighting that much, he might get hurt. Or worse, get killed.

Fai laughed out loud when she told him this. "Don't worry about Kurogane, Tomoyo-chan, he's as tough as they come. He won't get killed, not until he gets back to his world." He turned his attention towards their surrounding, smiling to himself. "Sakura-chan would love this place!" Fai said after taking in the whole scenery around them. He nodded appreciatively as they walked around the park, side-stepping small boys and girls running carelessly around with balloons tied on their wrists, their parents watching them with hawk-like eyes.

By appearance, at least, it seemed like Tomodea was like all other towns. Quiet and laidback. Simple. It was all pink and yellow and green and blue, with a lot of smaller houses and establishments: cafés, shops, bookstores. It was very quaint and lovely, so very different from the grand, majestic buildings and temples and shrines of Fai's world that were made with ivory, the smoothest, whitest marble and gilded with gold and silver. It was quite refreshing to the eyes.

Kurogane, on the other hand was neither impressed nor charmed by the place. He had spotted many objects, large and small, that beeped and blinked with lights, almost as though throbbing with a life of their own – sure signs that here, modernity and technology was a way of life. He didn't like technology very much. He hated modernization too. It stole tradition away and tradition is the very soul of everything.

Mokona, draped at the back of Tomoyo was just as happy as Fai. Tomoyo-chan sure knew how to make him look ordinary and he was glad that he wasn't so carelessly stuffed inside Kurogane's suffocating little pocket. Contrary to Kurogane's belief, he had feelings too and he didn't like it one bit being trapped inside that little space. He was however not allowed to talk, which was a bit difficult, since every once in a while he was so very tempted to tease Kuro-monmon.

"They're not here." Tomoyo said after a few hours of searching. She stood on toes, craning her neck still hoping to catch a glimpse of Sakura's familiar honey-colored hair or Syaoran's dark brown head.

Earlier, she had shown them a picture of Syaoran and Sakura in their kimonos and had earned several different reactions. Fai had said, "Oh, how lovely they look together! They look so in love with each other!"

Mokona had blushed red and squealed: "Love! Love! Love!"

Kurogane had looked slightly surprised, raising his eyebrows as he muttered, "The little brats look like they're from _my_ world!"

"It's not a big town, maybe we just missed them." Fai said, hoping to cheer Tomoyo up. He watched as she plopped herself down a white empty bench and followed suit, placing his elbow on his knees, resting his chin against his upturned palm. He turned to look at Kurogane, hoping that the black ninja would say something nice and encouraging but as soon as Kurogane felt his gaze on him, he let out a defensive snarl, baring his fangs.

"What?"

"Nothing." Fai said, waving his hand in the air. Trust Kurogane to be moodier than usual. It seemed to have something to do with Tomoyo. He had noticed the many and lingering glances Kurogane had given Tomoyo and there was something in his eyes that Fai had never seen before. Something that made the usually grumpy-looking Mr. Black look almost younger. The look softened the hard edges of Kurogane's face and not for the first time since he had met Kurogane, Fai wondered what or who exactly was Princess Tomoyo to Kurogane.

"Oh, hello Tomoyo-chan!" A man's voice greeted and almost instantly, Kurogane was on his feet, in between the stranger and Tomoyo-chan, blocking Fai's view of the newcomer.

"Yukito-san!" Tomoyo exclaimed, slightly pushing Kurogane off to the side. She stood up and smiled at Yukito. It was always nice to run into Yukito-san. "How have you been? How's your summer so far?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. In between odd jobs." He said, chuckling softly. He glanced at Tomoyo and her companions and raised his eyebrows in question. "What are you doing here?" He asked, pushing his glasses up his nose, glancing back again at the two tall men. He hadn't seen them before at Tomodea.

"I, ughn, we're just… ughm," Tomoyo struggled for a second, glancing at Fai-san who's warm smile never seemed to leave his face and Kurogane who was scowling like he had just swallowed something icky. What to say? She turned her attention back to Yukito, her brain trying to come up with a plausible story. She didn't want to lie to Yukito-san, but she couldn't really tell him that she was helping Fai-san and Kurogane look for Sakura and Syaoran of another dimension. "I was just, I mean…" She paused gave a nervous laugh ("oho-ho-hoho") and then smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling merrily. "I'm just giving them a tour of Tomodea." She explained, gesturing over at Fai and Kurogane.

"Oh, hello." Yukito said, greeting Kurogane with a friendly smile.

"You look familiar." Kurogane said, crossing his arms against his chest and looking suspiciously at Yukito with slitted eyes. "Where have we seen him?" He asked, turning to look at Fai.

"Pardon?" Yukito asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Oh, don't mind Kuro-chi." Fai said, standing up as well and Tomoyo was sandwiched in between a scowling Kurogane and a smiling Fai.

"My name's not Kuro-chi!" Kurogane roared, waving a fist in front of Fai's face. "It's KU-RO-GA-NE!"

"Well, honestly, Kuro-chan," Fai said, wagging a finger at a red-faced Kurogane, "no need to shout!" He turned to look at Yukito. "Please don't mind him, he's a bit… ugh..."

"Jet lagged." Tomoyo answered the same time Fai said: "Rude."

Kurogane glared at both Tomoyo and Fai. Rude, he knew what that meant. Jet-lagged sounded like something a pusillanimous bastard would get himself into.

"Fai D. Flowright." Fai stated, reaching out to shake hands with Yukito, attempting to distract Tomoyo's friend, who was looking curiously at the angry Black Ninja. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Tsukishiro Yukito." Yukito said just as pleasantly, finally taking his gray eyes away from Kurogane and shaking Fai's hand. "I hope you don't mind me asking," He started in a gentle voice, "but is that a foreign name?"

"Why, yes!" Fai answered, nodding his head, "you could say that."

"Fai's a cousin of sorts from Switzerland." Tomoyo explained rather smoothly.

"Oh, Tomoyo-chan, I didn't know you had cousins in Switzerland!" Yukito replied, clasping his hands in delight. "How wonderful!"

"They're here for a while. Uhm, a vacation – of sorts."

"Such a pretty country, Switzerland!" Yukito said enthusiastically addressing Fai.

Fai nodded his head in agreement. "Oh, yes it is. We're just visiting Tomoyo-chan and she's showing off her wonderful Tomodea."

"I hope you're enjoying your stay here." Yukito then turned to Kurogane. "And you, ugh, Mr. Kurogane-san, Are you a relative of Tomoyo-chan as well?"

Kurogane made a face. "Me?" He asked, his tone incredulous. A relative of the Princess! "I am not her relative! I'm her… I uhm… " And then as though suddenly realizing that the silver-haired man wasn't actually referring to _his_ Princess, Kurogane found himself at lost for words. He glanced at Tomoyo, trying to ignore Fai's irritating chuckles.

"Oh, Kuro-pipi is a friend of mine." Fai explained, saving Kurogane from making a fool out of himself. "I invited him to come here as well."

"I told you it's Kuro-" The black-haired man began, clearly agitated.

Yukito quickly interrupted him, "Ah, I see. Do you also live in Switzerland?" He asked, hoping to prevent an uncomfortable situation. He really didn't like being around arguing people, it made him slightly nervous. "Your name sounds Japanese."

"That's 'cause it is Japanese," Kurogane answered, "and I don't live is Switzer-whatever you call it."

"Ah, well, is this your first time in Japan too?"

Kurogane frowned. He was from Japan. He had been born Japan and had in fact been living in Japan before the Princess decided to send him off to the Dimension Witch. What an odd question to answer! "Well yes. I mean no. Not exactly…" He said, through gritted teeth.

"He means he's been to Japan, just not this part of Japan." Fai clarified for him, enjoying the look of vexation on Kurogane's face. It wasn't always that the black ninja would look so ill at ease. The question about Japan must've slightly thrown him off. Fai was having such a marvelous time!

Kurogane turned to glare at Fai, "Will you stop answering for me?"

"I'm sorry Kuro-pipi, it's just that you sounded so flustered…"

"Flustered!" Kurogane growled, "I do not sound _flustered_!"

"Oh dear…" Tomoyo and Yukito both mumbled, looking back and forth from an angry looking Kurogane to an innocent-faced Fai-san.

This doesn't look good at all. And it looked as though things are about to turn worse, Tomoyo thought as found herself nervously sitting down, her hand going to her throat.

"There you are, I was wondering where you've run off to."

Of all people! Tomoyo thought, watching anxiously as Touya approached them.

"To-ya," Yukito called, "come meet Tomoyo-chan's friend."

Introductions were made as Tomoyo watched them from lowered lashes. Oh, dear, she hoped neither Fai-san nor Kurogane would mention Sakura. Whenever Touya-san heard his sister's name mentioned by a boy – any boy above the age of fifteen, he would always go boinkers. And she'd be forced to explain what's going and there was something about Touya's direct gaze that made it impossible to lie to him! She wasn't quite ready to explain to Sakura's brother that Sakura and Syaoran of the other Dimension had gone missing.

"So you two are friends here too!" Fai exclaimed, remembering the first world they had stumbled upon. It seemed as though The King and The High Priest would always remain friends. There was something very touching – almost poetic about it.

Touya frowned. "Huh?"

"He's a foreigner." Yukito told Touya in a conspiratorial whisper, as though it explained everything.

"Oh." Touya said, nodding slowly. "Uhm. Yeah, we're all friends. She's friend with my sister." Touya said, nodding at Tomoyo who feebly smiled up at them.

"And where is your sister? Is she also here." Fai asked raising his eyebrows. He already knew who Touya's sister was. There was something special about this place and he could sense it now: Hitsuzen.

"No she isn't. The Kaiju…" Touya began and then shook his head as Yukito elbowed him, "I mean, Sakura's in China for vacation."

"With Syaoran-kun." Yukito added jovially and Touya scowled almost immediately.

"I knew it!" Fai mumbled, but his words were lost as Kurogane snorted and declared: "Well, at least the other brat is happy here."

"Excuse me?" Touya asked, turning to look at Kurogane, who was probably a couple of inches taller than him, but Touya wasn't intimidated by height. He was especially not intimidated by a scowling teenager. How old was this guy anyway? Who did he think he was, standing like that, arms crossed looking like… well, almost like Syaoran. Cocky and arrogant.

"This is almost as freaky as the Time Witch and the stupid talking bunnies and their stupid whirlwind all combined." Kurogane continued, seemingly unaware of Fai's warning look and Touya's glare.

At this point Tomoyo jumped out of her seat the same time Fai grabbed Kurogane, clamping his hand on Kurogane's mouth, muffling Kurogane's words.

"Oh, he's…" Tomoyo began, not sure what to say.

"Overly excited about this trip." Fai said, rescuing her. "Talking bunnies!" Fai chuckled and rolled his eyes. "He has nightmares about bunnies."

"But bunnies are really friendly and nice." Yukito said, almost earning him a glare from Touya who was watching Tomoyo and her new friends with dark, suspicious eyes. He should probably call Tomoyo's mother later and inform her about Tomoyo's choice of companions. Tomoyo's cousin was nice enough, in fact he sort of reminded Touya of Yukito, but the dark-haired man was trouble.

Tomoyo opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. She watched as Touya and Yukito frowned, looked at each other and then looked back and forth between her and Fai-san. Oh, my mother will definitely hear about this, I can see it in Touya's eyes. I'm going to be in so much trouble! How exciting!

"And oh, would you look at the time Tomoyo-chan!" Fai exclaimed, feigning shock.

"Oh, yes! My! We need to go now." Tomoyo agreed, still keeping her innocent smile. "Dinner awaits." Tomoyo added, hoping that the flimsy excuse would go unnoticed.

"Early dinner." Fai amended, seeing the confused expression on Touya and Yukito's faces.

"Yes, yes, uhm, early dinner. The Swiss eats a lot earlier." Tomoyo informed them, cringing as she realized that it was hardly dinner time yet. This was what happened when her lying skills weren't put into practice! She smiled her brilliant smile, "See you soon Touya-kun, Yukito-san. Say hi to Sakura for me, alright."

"It was nice meeting you two." Fai said, dragging a livid, sputtering Kurogane away. Oh, he was going to pay for this, Fai thought as Kurogane struggled to get out of his hold. He couldn't wait.

"See you around Yukito-chan. Touya-san." Tomoyo hurriedly bowed down low and then immediately sprinted to catch up with Fai and Kurogane. "Bye." She called out, waving her hands in the air.

"Bye!" Yukito hollered back, waving his arms high up. They watched silently as Tomoyo and her weird cousin and the even weirder friend of the cousin disappeared from sight. And then smiling, Yukito turned to look at Touya. "That was a bit starnge, wasn't it, To-ya?"

Touya scowled and was silent from a few moments and then frowning, he asked: "Did Tomoyo's backpack just winked at us?"

TBC

---- -----

Author's note: Oh, alright. I sort of played about with this chapter. LOL. Sorry if everyone suddenly started acting all… crazy. I had such fun writing this, it's probably the longest chapter yet. I hope you all enjoyed this bit, despite the general weirdness. I did a few editing for the last chapter, so there a few minor changes there, nothing much. Anyway, please do let me know what you guys think. I really do appreciate it. Many, many thanks for the wonderful reviews.


	7. Chapter 7

**Wings  
**By **Yuki**  
**Rating**: M-ish. Some swearing.  
**Pairing**: mainly S+S  
**Summary**: Touya dreams about feathers (yeah... that does kind of sound dumb, doesn't it? LOL)  
**Notes**: I started this before the whole Tokyo-arc thingie (I don't even know the title of the story arc - geez!) I haven't read it either and honestly, I have no idea as to what is happening to TRC now... so this is as AU as you can get. I apologize for such late update. I have no excuse other than: life happened. I will try to update as often as I can. I hope that this chapter does not disappoint. I apologize for the massive OOC-ness. Please let me know what you guys think. I really appreciate it. Thanks!

**Chapter 7**

As soon as they were all inside the house with Kurogane still threatening to tear Fai-san limb from limb and Fai looking quite nonplussed as to why Kurogane would resort to such violence, Mokona made a startling announcement that effectively silenced Kurogane's death threats: "I felt a feather!"

Tomoyo who by now was in near tears stared up at Kurogane and Fai-san in confusion, "Feather?" she asked in a strangled sort of voice.

Fai looked at her, smiling gently, "There, there now." He said, patting her head almost in a fatherly-like manner. "You made her cry." He said, turning to look at Kurogane smiling ever so ebulliently as the Black Ninja scowled, shifting his weight from foot to foot. "Shame on you Kuro-minmin." Fai continued, sitting down next to Tomoyo and getting the pink and white straps off Mokona so he could talk to the manju.

Kurogane was left looking like a fish out of the water as he opened and closed his mouth. He growled deep in his throat and raised his hand directly adjacent to Fai's delicate neck, as though he was really going to strangle the blonde. "I did not… I wasn't…" he began but was cut short as Tomoyo sniffed softly, shook her head and delicately wiped her nose.

"It wasn't your fault, Kurogane-san, I just don't like you and Fai-san arguing, that's all."

Kurogane 'hmped' and crossed his arms against his chest, still glaring at the magician. "Well tell him to keep his hands away from me!"

"If I hadn't you would've upset the older brother." Fai then ever so slightly angled his face, so that Kurogane could only barely see his bangs-covered blue eyes, "Really, Kuro-pinpin, I've never heard you be so talkative before, it isn't like you at all." Fai commented in a rather sly tone. Kurogane sputtered unintelligibly but Fai had already turned his attention at a yawning Mokona. "Now, Mokona, was it really a feather or something else?"

"Feather?"

"We'll explain later, Tomoyo-chan." Fai said patiently, gently squeezing Tomoyo's hand. He returned his attention back to Mokona. "Are you sure it's a feather and nothing else?"

"So you felt it too?" Kurogane asked, raising his eyebrows.

Fai nodded his head. "In the park."

"Yeah. A strong ki."

"Old magic." Fai murmured in agreement.

"Mokona sensed a feather in the park!"

"We were in the park the whole day, manju. It was a big park." Kurogane said, "Would it hurt to be more specific?"

Mokona squinted his already squinty little eyes, concentrating hard. "Hmmm. I'm thinking, I'm thinking!"

Kurogane's eyebrows rose in surprise, "The manju can think?"

"Now, Kuro-mon, don't be mean." Fai advised him, chuckling softly.

"Kami, I swear, if you don't stop with the stupid nicknames…" Kurogane muttered in a threatening voice, glaring at Fai.

The magician discreetly, smilingly pointed at Tomoyo who was holding the white "backpack" murmuring gentle encouragements to Mokona. Kurogane frowned and growled in defeat.

Mokona gravely nodded his head. "I felt a feather and then I winked at it."

"You winked at it?" Fai asked smiling at Mokona, "And did it wink back, Moko-chan?"

Mokona sadly shook his head. "It looked at Mokona really mean, like this." And his eyes shifted to look like a slightly familiar looking glare: slanted eyed and so utterly distrustful.

Tomoyo tilted her head and bit her lips. Mokona's eyes looked almost exactly as Touya-kun's. Well, not as the same as Sakura's older brother, Touya certainly did not have sparkly lavender eyes but she'd seen Touya send Syaoran countless death-glares to be familiar with the look. But Touya-kun does not have any feather. Yue-san has.

Could Mokona mean Yukito-san's other form? Frowning, Tomyo wondered if she should mention this to them. It might help them. "What about the feathers?"

"They're memories, Tomoyo-chan." Fai explained to her. "You see, the Princess memories are in the form of feathers and they all flew away, to different worlds and dimensions. We're are all helping Syaoran-kun to find them and give them back to Sakura-chan."

"Memories?" Tomoyo scrunched up her face in confusion. "Princess Sakura has lost her memories?"

Mokona and Fai somberly nooded their head.

"Oh, that is so sad and horrible!" Tomoyo said with a gasp. She couldn't imagine how it would be like if she had lost all her memories. Granted that she could just probably watch all of her video tapes - and see! she knew video-taping had a higher, more noble reason!

"It makes Mokona sad too."

Tomoyo cradled Mokona, hugging him close to her chest. "So, it's just the feathers that you are looking for?" She asked, looking at Fai and at Kurogane.

"That's right, Tomoyo-chan. Mokona has special powers and he knows if there's a feather nearby."

"Mokona felt it and Mokona winked at it!" Mokona repeated in the same jovial manner, as though suddenly forgetting the tradegy of Sakura's lost memories.

Kurogane, who had remained silent during the whole conversation, was not amused. "You felt a feather and you winked at it?!" He asked enraged.

Mokona pouted, looking put-off. "Mokona was told to keep quiet! Mokona can't go all: MEKYO!"

The imitated glare, the feathers, Yue, everything completed forgotten, Tomoyo brought Mokona close to her eyes, rubbing her nose against him. "Oh! How cute!" She squealed in utter delight as Mokono's eyes grew in size, brilliant and sparkling.

"Mokona has a point." Fai deadpanned, raising his eyebrows at Kurogane as though challenging him.

The little manju is only too happy to agree. "Mokona follows instructions. That's why he's everyone's idol. Mokona is not like Kuro-monmon who makes Tomoyo-chan cry!"

"Why you little…"

* * *

Touya turned to another corner, the sound of rubber wheels crunching against the pavement reaching his ears. He let out a small smile. Not one of those self-satisfied smirks he was quite known for. A real, honest to goodness smile.

He loved going out during this time of the day, when the sun wasn't so hot any more and the sky is just about to turn blue-black. It helped him relax. Clear his mind off all those unnecessary head-clutter. Everything slowly falling away. There is only silence. Peaceful and calm.

He had just finished with the grocery and for the first time in weeks, he felt a little cheerful. Doing household chores was so mundane and normal, which is why he liked doing them. Besides, these were the little things he could do for his family and he was more than glad that he could do it for them. Of course, it would be more fun if he had his family with him. But it wouldn't be long. By next week, everyone would be home. His dad. His sister. And hopefully, by that time, those silly dreams would have faded away.

Touya knew it had something to do with Sakura being so far away. Maybe that was what those wings or feathers meant. Flying. Like, maybe, his subconsciousness was tryting to bridge the distance between them.

He rather liked this explanation and so he stuck with it. No sense in trying to be so negative about it.

Smirking, Touya had a sudden flash of inspiration. He'd tell Sakura all about the dream. He'd make it a bit scarier, though. He'd add demon-monster, with red glaring eyes, swooping down and dropping black feathers everywhere. Yeah, that sounded good.

Heh. Sakura would really freak out.

It had been a while since he had scared her real good. And when she'd start looking all pale and terrified, he'd distract her with his famous strawberry cake. They'd share a plate and stay up late. Just like the old days. He'd ask her about her trip to China and tease her when she tells him about doing all those girly-shopping stuff. Of course, he'd have to pretend that she wasn't with the Gaki. And if she happened to mention his name, he'd chew real loudly so he wouldn't have to listen to any story involving the brat.

His lips curling up in a bigger smile, he glanced down at the white plastic bag he was holding on his free hand. Strawberries. Lots and lots of fresh red strawberries. His little Kaiju would love it. He'd have to make sure though that there's enough strawberry cake for everyone. The stupid plushie toy could eat like it was some sort of demon God and the utterly annoying Hong Kong kid had an appetite for sweets as well. He snorted loudly; his sister was such a magnet for stupid, annoying… _things_.

Touya turned to a sharp corner and he really was going to hit the brakes but when he saw her – _Sakura_? - he just lost his mind and his control over the bike, effectively colliding with… _Syaoran_?

The impact was enough to throw him off balance and as he fell down the ground, taking the bike with him, his legs a tangled mess in between the pedals, he watched at the corner of his eyes as Syaoran lay sprawled on the ground. Unmoving.

What in God's name are those two doing here when they were supposed to be in China! He squinted his eyes, shook his head for a few seconds, as though clearing his thoughts but the image remained the same.

Touya frowned. Never mind what they were doing here, what in the world is the brat wearing?

He was sure that is was summertime, Halloween months and months away and yet there was the gaki wearing a strange costume of heavy green cloak. He knew the kid was strange, but not this strange. And then there was his sister who was kneeling beside Syaoran and…

"What the hell?" Touya muttered darkly, his eyes slanting dangerously. He noticed the mid-riff bearing shirt (or is it a blouse?) and the pointy little shoes. He wondered almost immediately if this is another card capturing game that they were playing but that could not be, since he knew that all of the cards had been captured and there had never been any incident over the years. And even if there was something going on, Yukito or Yue would have told him about it. Heck Sakura would have told him about it. After the whole thing with The Void, he had made Sakura promise him to tell him anything and everything relating to those cards.

And then as though to further confuse him, Touya heard the oddest thing: "Princess! Are you ok?"

_Princess_? Touya rolled his eyes. Of all the lamest, utterly juvenile, sickeningly-sweet…

"Syaoran-kun, are you hurt anywhere?"

He must have hit his head in the pavement, Touya thought. Like real hard. He was in a coma and is now being punished by visions of his sister groping the brat's shoulder, her hands deftly moving down to the brat's chest and then to his stomach and good God, if Sakura's hand had gotten anywhere lower, he was going to have a heart attack.

While in a coma.

How stupid is that?

Touya moved to pinch his arms, wincing at the pain. So okay, maybe he wasn't exactly in a coma. Although if Sakura doesn't stop fawning at the Syaoran, someone is going to be rushed to the hospital. Someone named Li Syaoran.

"I bet the brat is more than just fine." He muttered to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't believe how Sakura was completely ignoring him – her very own brother – as he lay sprawled in the ground, the scent of strawberries surrounding him.

He glanced at the strawberries, now lying useless and squished on the pavement and felt a surge of annoyance. "You!" he said, in an accusing voice, sitting up and pointing a finger at the Brat who also, Touya quickly realized, wasn't The Brat. "You've grown taller!" He said, frowning. How could've Syaoran grown that much tall and what does his brain meant when it recognize the brat as _not_ being The Brat?

Oh Kami. _Concussion_. That would explain why his brain wasn't functioning properly.

The brat who is also not The Brat ogled at him for a few seconds, his jaws hanging open in disbelief. "Your highness?"

Touya blinked, not sure if he heard the brat right. "My _what_?" Touya watched as the Syaoran-looking gaki sidled up to Sakura's side, his stance almost protective.

"He recognizes us, hime." He heard Syaoran mumble in a soft almost soothing voice.

Touya growled deep in his throat. "Ne, Gaki you better not be on drugs or I'm going to really kick your ass."

Syaoran looked startled as soon as the word Gaki escaped his mouth and so did Sakura who looked just as surprised. "Ano, Syaoran, this has never happened before." She said, in that still low, restrained voice, a knowing look passing between them.

Annoyed, Touya silently huffed. "I can both hear ya fine." He grumbled, irritably rubbing his face.

Sakura took a small step forward, her green eyes huge, familiar. "Touya 'ni-sama?" She asked in a reluctant voice. "O-onii-sama?"

"Sa-sakura?" Touya ask backed and he almost lied down again as his vision blurred, his head throbbing painfully. He squinted his eyes and started at the girl who looked uncannily so much like Sakura. But he knew that it can't be her, unless she just got back from China, but then again, what's with the weird dress-pants?

Utterly confused, he finally stood up, deciding that them looking down at him was not the best vantage point. At least with his height advantage… _whoa_! He glared at the boy, "Hey!" He sputtered, beyond confused now. "You're supposed to be this short!" He indicated a small space in between his thumb and forefinger before turning his attention back to the girl, "and you don't look like a Kaiju at all!" he said this with an almost sad note in his voice.

The impossibly taller Syaoran gasped, looked at him in a completely stricken manner. "Your highness!"

"Would you stop calling me that?" He glared at him. "Go shrink back to your original height, little twerp!"

"The Time Witch said…" Sakura started, looking back and forth from Syaoran to Touya, her gentle face twisting up in confusion.

Something cold snaked up to Touya's heart. He took a step towards them, snarling. "Who are you? You're not the Gaki and… and you're… you're…"

_You're not my sister._

But he couldn't say it. He couldn't say it not with her staring at him quietly with those large green eyes. Their mother's eyes. How could she not be his sister? This girl with the same smile, the same hair… but he knew it in his heart, knew it for certain that she wasn't… and yet… something about her _tugged_ at his very soul, it was so familiar. She was so familiar. But still, not his sister. Not his Sakura.

"You're not…" he tried once more, determined to be loyal to his Kaiju, who currently, or at least he hoped, was a thousand miles away from him, unaware that someone who has her face was also in Tomodea. Balling up his hands into tight fits, he walked towards her, suddenly towering above her. "You're not…"

From the corner of his eyes he could see the Gaki making a move, as though to block him from Sakura. He mentally rolled his eyes. Like what could the kid do? But Sakura had also stepped closer up to him and in a heart-rendering gentle voice, she uttered the words stuck in Touya's throat: "You're… not my oni-chan."

That she said it first… it felt like a thousand blows to his chest. He knew that she wasn't his sister, but to have to hear her say that, with that same sad, small voice, something in him, something small but important, it shriveled up and died. "Of course I… you… you're," He paused, choking on the word. "You're not my immotou."

She sadly shook her head, her green eyes apologetic. "No. I don't think so. I mean, I know I'm not. I'm sorry. But my name is Sakura. And your name is Touya too, right?"

Touya nodded wordlessly. The whole world had flipped over. And we are, ladies and gentlemen, now rolling into madness. Enjoy the ride.

He took a deep breath, tried to calm his madly beating heart. He didn't sense anything alarming about the two. Of course, the fact that he was standing and talking to a seemingly aged carbon-copies of his sister and the Gaki was _alarming_ enough, but there is nothing menacing about them. Nothing... well, evil.

Touya didn't have the same power as before, but he could sense that they posed no threat. But there must be something going on. Something important. Something that involved his sister. He opened his mouth about the same time his phone started ringing.

Great. Talk about ridiculous timing. Touya snapped his mouth shut, grumbling and promising death on whoever was calling him. He fished out his phone, keeping his eyes glued at the two doppelgangers. The startled look Syoaran and Sakura were giving him was unnerving.

"It's a pretty sound." Sakura murmured. "Kind of like singing."

"It's not singing. It's just... you know, ringing." Touya answered, waving his phone in the air, surprised that he's trying to explain a cell phone to Sakura. Sakura who is never without this annoying device. Who insisted that he had one and that she'd have her very own special ringtone, so that he'd know if she was calling him. The little memory struck a chord inside his heart and he suddenly wished he had his sister beside him. His real sister.

His eyes darted from their curious faces to the name flashing on the phone. The ringtone is not familiar. It's not Sakura calling. But he knows who it is. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand, the same feeling of coldness from earlier sweeping up inside his chest.

"Fuck me." This, of course, he made sure was said low enough for Sakura not to hear and then in a louder, angrier voice, he announced. "I should have known."

Touya angrily flipped his phone open and took a deep breath before calmly stating: "Eriol, guess what, I am going to England to kick your ass back to Japan. How does that sound to you?"

"It sounds like you've met our visitors, Touya."

-tbc-


	8. Chapter 8

**Wings  
**By **Yuki**  
**Rating**: M-ish. Some swearing.  
**Pairing**: mainly S+S  
**Summary**: Touya dreams about feathers (yeah... that does kind of sound dumb, doesn't it? LOL)  
**Notes**: Oh wow, I am so sorry for taking me this long to update. I... I have lost tracked of this story and had gotten sidetracked by RL but I suddenly had the time to sit down again and here's what I ended up doing. I hope that this update, too long that it had been, does not disappoint too much...

Wings

Chapter 8

It was, as Touya had just discovered, never a good thing to receive a call from Hirigizawa. He would've gladly gone through his life without ever having to discover this particular fact but circumstances had greatly changed that and now, chagrined, he breathed noisily, angrily pressing the phone against his cheeks. Touya suddenly missed the good old days when never really had any reason at all to interact with the little kid.

_Kid_.

Right.

More like Spawn of Something Evil.

"Eriol, guess what?" Not a question really since he didn't give the kid enough time to answer, "I am going to England to kick your ass back to Japan. How does that sound to you?" Touya was barely able to spit the words out through his tightly gritted teeth. He knew who exactly Eriol is supposed to be – a reincarnation of one of the greatest, if not _the_ greatest sorcerer. One that can, as time have often proved, alter much of reality, bend it to his will, a master manipulator. In other words, a reliable, dependable trouble maker. And though Touya never really much thought about it, Eriol just had a way of spooking him. Not that he'd ever admit it out loud, but anyone would agree that the whole rebirth thing was some scary shit.

He was suddenly distracted by the sound of Hirigizawa's voice coming from the other end of the line: "Sounds like you've met our visitors."

And _always_ so infuriatingly cryptic.

Frowning darkly, Touya felt his stomach churning. Eriol sounded calm enough, so he was sure that there was no imminent danger to Sakura or Yuki (and okay, maybe even to the stupid Gaki as well), which was good news but still, it does not explain this whole sordid Not-Syaoran and Not-Sakura Situation. "What the hell is going on here?" He finally burst out, his eyes slanting into tiny, dangerous slits.

"Hitsuzen." Eriol answered serenely.

"What kind of an answer is that?" Touya roared, his voice echoing around the tiny alley. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Sakura slightly jump up with surprise, the Gaki taking on a defensive stance. He fought the urge to roll his eyes. This day was quickly going down as the Suck Fest Day of the month. Probably the year, even.

"Nothing is purely coincidental, Touya, you of all people should know _that_." Eriol said, the lecturing tone only adding fuel to Touya's growing irritation.

"Hitsuzen my ass." Touya answered back through tightly gritted teeth. "I want a fu-" Touya stopped just in time to censor himself. He glanced at Sakura who was watching him with wide green eyes. He took a deep breath, gripping the phone, trying to calm down. "How about I re-phrase my question, hm, Eriol? You think you could work with me here? Listen closely, okay: WHAT. THE. HELL. IS. GOING. ON. HERE?" Touya stopped and took a deep breath, quickly adding, "And I would really appreciate it if you can give me a reasonable explanation why there's someone in Tomodea prancing around wearing the Gaki's face! I mean, Kami, is one Gaki not enough? Is there really a need for another one?" He angrily turned his head, pinning Syaoran with his glare, "There is just one of your right? There isn't an army of Gaki somewhere out there, just waiting to pop out?"

It took Touya to realize that he had never said so much in his entire life. And such silly things too. This was clearly some sign of apocalyptical times.

"Please don't be mad, Touya-sama." Sakura began, tentatively taking a step towards Touya, as though trying to shield Syaoran from his wrath.

Startled at hearing Sakura's voice, Touya completely forgot about the phone he was using and Eriol who was having some sort of litany right now. He shook his head, as though trying to erase the way Sakura's voice had sounded just seconds ago.

That kind of tone, so timid and soft, it didn't belong to his sister.

Of course, _this_ Sakura wasn't his sister. But still, he could quite think of her as a complete, total stranger. This wasn't like the Mirror card. He knew that it was a spirit wearing her sister's face – for a good cause, although, not something he entirely approved of – but that wasn't the point. Anyway, this other Sakura, well, she _was_ or actually _is_ Sakura. But not the Sakura he grew up with, that he protected with every fiber of his being. This was not his Kaiju. And yet… and yet, she still stirred up in him the same feelings he had for his sister: wanting to care for her and protect her and… get her away from that Gaki as soon as possible…

"If it will make you feel any better, Touya-sama," Sakura continued when he didn't say anything, "There are other Touya'stoo. Different versions of you, in different worlds and dimension. We've even met some of you."

Touya wordlessly stared at her and briefly wondered if Yukito had somehow mistakenly baked cookies with some mind altering substance. Or: "Mushrooms." He finally muttered. "I must have eaten some real bad mushrooms." Although, how, when and where, that he couldn't quite figure out.

"I'm afraid mushrooms doesn't have anything to do with this," Eriol piped in, sounding slightly amused

Touya had had enough with the riddles. So there were many versions of him. And Sakura. And Syaoran, too apparently, although for what strange purpose to actually have all these multi-universe he couldn't quite figure out – what had the world gotten into? – Touya thought, shuddering, but alright, _fine_: there are many dimensions and worlds; the universe is a vast vat of weirdness, blah blah blah, he's on board with that, and that's all interesting, really, but what he wanted to know was how this would affect his sister. If it would affect her at all. "Where is Sakura? Where is _my_ Sakura?"

"She's in China. With _her_ Syaoran."

Touya growled menacingly at this as Eriol continued on, oblivious to Touya's reactions. "There is no need to worry Touya. You're being too melodramatic."

"I'm being melodramatic?" Touya raged. "_I'm_ being melodramatic?" He repeated, stopping abruptly as soon as he realized that repeating his utterances _might_ be a little too melodramatic. Glaring at the phone in hand, he paced around for a few seconds, before suddenly looking around, eyes glittering with suspicion. "I swear to God, if Tomoyo suddenly jumps out from the bushes, camera in hand, screaming: 'you've been punk'd, Touya-kun!' someone is going to have to die. Slowly and painfully." He cut his eyes towards Syaoran.

There's a heavy sigh at the end of the line. "Now you're just being silly."

Touya can practically see Eriol rolling his eyes. Fuckin' little punk. "You knew about this all along," He accused, his tone slightly more venomous than a livid rattlesnake. "And do I get a warning, no, of course not, let Touya suffer from a heart attack."

"This is hardly about you at all Touya." Eriol said in a scolding voice.

A vein inside Touya's head began to throb. He had never been treated this way before. Even Kaho had never talked to him this way. Like he was a five year old kid. And okay, granted that Eriol was truly, technically, probably a hundred years older than him - just with a body of a young teenage boy, utterly creepy, by the way – Touya wasn't going to let Eriol chastise him like that.

"You get this through your thick head Eriol, if it's about Sakura, anything at all, I as her brother, deserved to know exactly what is going on!"

Another tired sigh from Eriol and then before Touya can really loose it, Eriol calmly added, "Which is why it is important that I give Syaoran and Sakura the message from Yuuko-chan."

Ah, bring in the other players! Fantastic. "And who in Kami's name is this Yuuko-chan?" Touya grumbled. The gasp from Syaoran and Sakura – who aren't really Syoran and Sakura, damn this is giving Touya a headache – told him that they knew who exactly Yuuko was.

"Can you put me on speaker, so that they can hear me?" Eriol requested quite pleasantly. Cheerfully even.

"I'm so glad you're enjoying this," Touya viciously muttered. "It must be really boring in England." That or Kaho must have finally dumped his sorry little ass.

"Any time today, Touya. If you want your answers, that is." Eriol chirped up.

Great, now I'm the freakin' secretary. Touya thought, violently pressed the speaker button, holding the phone up, like it's some sort of weapon. "Alright, you're on."

"Hello Syaoran and Sakura." Eriol greeted amicably.

Both Syaoran and Sakura's eyebrows rose and Touya had to roll his eyes.

"It is a pleasure to finally speak with the princess and her knight," Eriol continued, his voice more pleasant than normal.

"I'm no Knight." Syaoran answered, almost automatically.

Touya didn't miss the way Syaoran's facial muscles had clenched at the denunciation of his supposed Knighthood. Odd boy. Are all versions of the Gaki like him? And what was wrong with being a knight to this other Sakura? What, did the kid think he was too good to be Sakura's knight? Another fuckin' little punk. His life is filled with them, why is that? Can someone explain that to him?

"Who are you?" Sakura asked, her brows coming together, as though she was trying very hard to remember something. "I know you… your voice… but I… I can't…."

Touya watched the expressing of near-agony flitting on her sister's face; this was quickly smoothed out when Syaoran very briefly touched her arm, as though trying to distract her. "Princess, don't." Was the muted whisper from Syaoran and Touya narrowed his eyes at that.

For someone who isn't even a knight, the kid was ordering the Princess around?

"Ah, my dear child," Eriol's voice again, "I may sound different, but I think in your heart of hearts you know that you can trust me, ne?"

Sakura's delicate face visibly paled.

"Princess?" The concern in Syaoran's voice was palpable as Sakura blindly held out a hand towards Syoran, which the kid eagerly took, squeezing it gently, tugging a little, bringing Sakura closer to him.

Anymore closer they would be practically joined at the hip! This isn't really his sister but he had to tamp down the urge to grab Sakura and hide her behind his back, away from Syaoran and his grabby little hands. Which by the way, were clasped around Sakura's.

Sakura took a deep breath, closing her eyes, "I… I do. It's strange. I can't even see your face… but your voice…I do trust you, Eriol-sama." And when she opened her eyes, there was a triumphant gleam in them. As though the sense of trust that Eriol's voice had evoked was some sort of prize. Something she had grasped and was tightly holding on to.

This was more baffling and disturbing than ever, Touya thought, grimacing. Especially when Eriol had called Sakura his child. This is bringing things into a whole level of wrongness.

"Good. That is all that I need to hear from you, my little Sakura."

Touya couldn't help snarling a little at that. Since when was _his _Sakura became Eriol's Sakura? Since when did she become _everyone's_ Sakura? At what point in his life did he not paid enough attention that it had gotten this far? Everyone staking a claim on his sister?!

"I do have a message from Yuuko." Eriol continued in the same velvety voice which gave Touya the heebie-jeebies. "She's quite busy at the moment. I believe someone messed up something or the other and she's trying to straighten things out over at her end. Anyway, she said not to worry. Everything will be fine. There is no danger of meeting your other selves, not now and hopefully not ever.

She's certain that there really is nothing to worry about it in the first place, seeing your other selves face to face, I mean. Well, other than presumably a bad headache, but really, no one would self-combust or go yammering-mad. There is no Universal Law about such things, at least as far as I know. I expect there'd be a bit of explaining – if and when that happens – but nothing that can't be talked about over tea or coffee, or ice cream, ne?

As it is, there might be some confusion right now, which is understandable but rest assured that no harm will come to you there. Yuuko thinks this little side trip might even help you gain some new perspective about well, yourselves, of course. And if you searched well, you'd find whatever it is that you're looking for. It might even be just right underneath your noses." At this point, Eriol lets out a small pleased chuckle.

"So let me officially welcome you to Tomodea," He continued without missing a beat. "I certainly hope that you enjoy your stay there. It will be brief, but enlightening, I can assure you that."

Listening closely, Touya didn't think he felt like he could sit back, relax and just enjoy the show. Frankly, the more Eriol was trying to explain things, the more confusing it was becoming. Who the hell is this Yuuko character and what does she have to do with all of these?

Probably some sort of sorceress, Touya concluded with a grimace. Figures Eriol would be friends with someone who'd be so careless as to get two different worlds all tangled up. These magicians! Always messing around people's lives like its some sort of hobby. Arrogant people!

"She did warn me about other people watching closely, but again, there is no need to be alarmed. You're both safe there. And to answer your question, Touya, I think The Watchers won't be bothering _your _Syaoran and Sakura…"

"You _think?!" _Touya growled into the phone. This conversation was supposed to make him better?

The sound of a long suffering sigh filtered through the phone. "Fine," Eriol grumbled, as though he was finally realizing that he was being incredibly bratty. Impossible, of course. So maybe Kaho was giving him a reprimanding look. "I am quite certain, Touya, that Sakura and Syaoran are both fine in China. Perhaps you'd like me to swear on something I hold precious and dear, hmm?"

There was a smug, teasing tone in Eriol's voice that Touya didn't like. "You want some swearing, Eriol?"

"Oh, Touya, give it up. I know you're worried but do you think that Syaoran or his mother and his sisters would allow anyone to harm Sakura? Even the Chinese Girl would be ready to defend Sakura if things… get out of hand, which, again, I am assuring you, will not happen." Eriol had said this all in one quick breath, making sure that Touya wouldn't get a single word in. "Although Suppi says that you shouldn't really count on the Yellow Plushie." Eriol chuckled, "Bad Suppi!"

Someone purred from the other end of the line and Touya could swear that every hair on his body had stood on its end. His sister was surrounded by crazies.

His silence was misinterpreted as there's another sigh and then, "Kaho promises that everything will be fine."

"She can't go home yet, can't she?" Touya asked after a few minutes of silence, his voice sounding hoarse. From all that shouting, of course.

"Well, sure, she can, Touya." Eriol's voice brightened up. "In fact, call me when she comes home, I'd like to watch you explain all these to her."

Touya made a face. Hahaha. Eriol is so funny, isn't he? "No thanks." He muttered. He can go without Sakura home for a few more days. As long as she's safe back in China, then fine, she can stay there until everything in Tomodea goes back to normal. Besides, Touya sneaked another peak at Syaoran who, FYI: now has an arm wrapped around Sakura's shoulder, the mere thought of having two Syaoran's walking around Tomodea, arrogant and irritating? Hell no.

"Well then, I guess all is settled." Eriol said, sounding business like.

Settled? Oh, this was so far from settled. "Oh no you don't-"

Eriol gracefully cut him off. "So Syaoran and Sakura you just have fun there. And good luck with the search. But… be careful, though," he added in a slightly lower tone of voice. "Kinomoto-san can be quite psychotic."

And then the line went dead.

The flat beeping sound seemed to echo all around them, most especially in Touya's head. What the hell? Did that little magician punk hanged up on him?

Unacceptable! Totally unacceptable. He had specifically asked for an explanation and instead he got absolutely… well, nothing! _Nothing_ at all. Turning to look at the phone, gritting his teeth, frustrated that none of his questions we answered at all, worst now he's left with more questions than ever, he turned to glare then at Syaoran.

"Let's get this straight alright. I don't care about you. I'd be more than fine if you'd gotten into some warped dimension and someone fried your ass but I sure as hell want to know exactly what's going on. What 'Watchers'? What 'search'? What the hell is Eriol babbling about?"

Sakura answered her voice painfully small, tentative. "Eriol-sama said not to worry."

Touya cringed at the way this Sakura spoke. "I'm sorry okay, but I don't entirely trust the guy." He said, his tone softening as he regarded Sakura with an apologetic half-grimace.

"Why not?" She asked looking bewildered, her face so familiarly scrunched up.

Her confusion at not being able to trust someone, it brought a sad, something aching inside Touya's chest. Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Touya shook his head, breathing deeply, trying to calm himself. "Because he likes manipulating people and he thinks its fun. He does it for the fun of it."

"I don't trust him either." Syaoran announced in a lowered voice. He glanced up at Touya and for a moment, they shared a look and the fact that he and Syaoran are sharing a look – well, Kami cue in the creepy music.

Shaking his head, Touya resumed his pacing. He could feel Syaoran watching him. Finally, Syaoran straightened up, locking his eyes on him again. "The Watchers, whoever they are, they won't hurt your Sakura."

Touya huffed. "Oh, yeah? How can you be so sure?"

A haunted look crossed Syaoran's face. "She isn't the princess. It's the princess that they want."

Sensing the sudden shifting of Syaoran's mood, Sakura quickly reached out her hand, touching the taller boy's shoulder, gently squeezing. "Syaoran-kun…"

Syaoran turned towards her, taking her hand, enveloping it inside his own two larger hands, squeezing back in reassurance. "Princess, please don't worry about it. I'm here to protect you."

Touya watched this exchange, his face setting into a stony expression. "If something happens to my sister…" He hadn't realized it, but he had been glaring at the other Sakura.

"She didn't do anything." Syaoran answered back, standing up to his full height. "Look, I'm sorry, uhm…sir, we didn't mean to cause any trouble or upset you." The Older Brat had put himself in between him and the Not-Sakura Sakura, bowing down low in apology.

Touya stepped back, more out of surprise. "Gah, what are you doing? Stop that! Don't do that!" The Gaki had never been this polite with him – ever. This was bringing the creepiness of the whole thing past… well everything!

Syaoran Number Two quickly straightened up. "Gomen ne. Force of habit." The kid paused as though considering his next words. "You see, in our world, you're the king"

Touya could feel his eyebrows rising and his lips curving into a smile, but he couldn't help himself. "I'm the _what_ in your what?" He needed to hear the brat say it just one more time.

"You're the king." The kid nodded curtly. "Or at least you look like our king; you don't act much like a king."

"Nani?!" Nostrils flaring, Touya took a step forward. He shouldn't really be offended, since he had no plans of being king and it was the last thing he'd ever consider himself to be. But to be told by that insufferable Otherworld Gaki that he couldn't act like one, in front of his Otherworld Sister no less, well, okay frankly, he was insulted.

"It's just an observation." The kid answered calmly, not even flinching. And try as hard as he could, Touya couldn't help but feel a little bit impressed by this sudden show of courage. Not that the other Syaoran had ever backed down on him. Of course, this Syaoran was much older and he seemed more… poised, more self-assured. Which only grated on Touya's nerve.

"The king would _never_ insult the princess." Syaoran added with a firm nod. "And the king isn't arrogant at all. Well, not as arrogant as you, anyway."

"What did you say? Would you like to run that by me again, twerp?"

"The king is noble and wise and kind."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Touya asked, raising his eyebrows. At the back of his mind, some voice was telling him to be grateful that the brat was a loyal subject, ready to defend his king – which would be him, technically. Although, to admit that would be tantamount to acknowledging that the kid isn't really as bad and would even be nearly perfect for his sister. Okay, his other sister, but well, fuck that.

The kid was glaring at him.

Touya narrowed his eyes. "You and the king are real buddy-buddy then? Got along fine, didn't you? Hang out by the palace much?" He asked, trying to goad the Taller Brat.

Something flickered across Syaoran's face. A defeated look, was it? Something sad and terrible that Touya almost instantly regretted his words.

"No. Yes. I mean, I… I…" Syaoran's features seems to crumple from some weight, gritting his jaws, he finally shook his head. "No, I am not allowed in the castle grounds until I'm summoned."

"So well then, you really wouldn't know what kind of a King I am." Touya paused, frowned, "well, he is, I mean my other self." Goddammit, why did he start this stupid conversation again?

"The king would never…" Syaoran began, his hands balling into tight fists.

Sakura suddenly stepped in between them, startling them both. "Its ok Syaoran-kun," Sakura said, laying a hand over one of the brat's fists. She glanced at Touya, smiling softly, a familiar almost affectionate little smile. "My Touya-'ni sama calls me Kaiju a lot, too"

"He does?" Syaoran and Touya asked at the same time. Syaoran sounded both appalled and surprised. Touya on the other hand sounded pleased and vaguely tender. Almost touched by this revelation.

Syaoran looked from Sakura to Touya, shaking his head. "Well, he shouldn't. You aren't a kaiju…"

It was Touya's turn to look at Syaoran with a death glare. "Yeah, well what if she likes it, huh? Have you ever thought about that, brat?"

"Maa, maa, you two." Sakura said, finally taking control of the situation that was quickly escalation into a death glare fest. She turned to Syaoran, "I do kind of like it." She paused, tilting her head. "I think. But it annoys me sometimes too. Especially when you… when he does it in front of… other people." And as though this was something she was just realizing, her face began to glow, brightening, her smile slowly stretching her face.

Touya watched as she clasped her hand, turning her back against him to face Syaoran and holding both of his hand, her whole body shaking.

"I remember! I remember, Syaoran-kun!" She breathed excitedly. "I remember it from the feather that you got me the last time."

Alarm bells went off inside Touya's head. Loud. Clear. Ringing, ringing, ringing until everything went falling into place.

"Did you just say feather?" He asked in a strangled sort of voice.

Sakura turned to face him, cocking her head a little. "Why yes, you see…"

"What do you know about the Hime's feather?" Syaoran quickly interrupted, pushing Sakura behind him. However this Syaoran looked and acted like his Sakura's Syaoran, Touya had to remind himself that he was not the same little Hong Kong Kid. He could tell almost instantly that this Syaoran had fought more battles, had won almost all of them. He was stronger too. More adept at fighting. Would not think twice of fighting him, if it came to that.

Well, Touya can fight too. "Don't take that tone of voice with me, kid." He stepped back, hands closing into fists as well.

"Please don't fight." Sakura begged them, watching them with worried green eyes.

"It's alright hime." Syaoran assured her, nodding curtly at his direction.

So the brat thinks he can take me. Maybe he can. Maybe the best way to deal with this was to avoid violence of any sort, Touya thought almost warily. He wasn't a fan of violence, especially not with Sakura in their presence. Rolling his eyes, he relaxed his stance. "Why do you keep calling her that? Her name's Sakura." He said, in a perceptibly friendlier voice, although the tone didn't really convey hugs and kisses, at least it was more… civil.

Syaoran looked at him, taking in the slackened arms and hand. He did the same thing, standing shoulder to shoulder with Sakura, as though acknowledging that Touya wasn't an immediate thread. "A commoner can't just call the Princess by her first name."

_Commoner? _What was the kid doing hanging out with Sakura, the Princess if he was just a commoner? Trust Sakura, even in the other dimension, she just had to seek out Syaoran. "What's a commoner doing with the Princess then?" Touya asked, not meaning to sound cruel, just curious.

Syaoran turned beet red. "I… well, I…"

Rescuing Syaoran from his discomfort, Sakura gave Touya a look, that familiar Shut Up Oni-chan look. "Please don't be mean to him. He's helping me find my memories."

Touya frowned at them. There was just no way of getting a straightforward normal conversation with this two. Ask a relatively logical question and they'd throw in something like this. "Your memories?"

"Un." Sakura nodded sadly. "I lost them. They all went flying away."

The image of it struck Touya like a giant anvil falling on his head: Flighty, little white feathers, flying away…

Touya felt nauseous. "Kami-freaking-sama." He muttered, suddenly remember his mother visiting him earlier this morning. Fucking hell. This was what his mother was telling him! Why had he forgotten about it? How could he have forgotten about it?

He must've looked like he was about to be sick because suddenly, he felt Sakura's hand tugging at the sleeves of his shirt, looking up at him, her green eyes wide and worried. "Is… is everything alright?"

Instinctively, Touya took her hand, pressing it into his palms. He suddenly felt sorry for her. No memories. How fucking sad was that? "No. No way in hell is everything all right." He choked on the words, clearing his throat. Where was he – where was her brother King when this was happening? How could he have let this happen to her?

"Did… did it hurt?" He asked softly.

Sakura shook her head.

He let out a breath he had been holding. At least it had been painless. "How did you lose your memory?"

"I…I don't remember." She confessed, blinking up at him. "But Syaoran-kun was there and he saved me."

Touya looked over at Sakura's head to watch Syaoran standing almost like a royal guard, still on the same spot minutes ago. "So he says." Touya muttered, shaking his head. How could something so unbearably awful happened to this girl? What if it had happened to his sister? He couldn't imagine how terrible it would be for him, for her friends… for Syaoran if she couldn't remember them.

"I believe Syaoran-kun. I trust him with my life." Sakura told him, her voice suddenly strong and sure.

"Hime…" Syaoran started in a low, pained voice, but was promptly interrupted when they heard a gurgling noise of sort.

"Hoe!" Sakura said, turning bright red, clutching at her stomach.

Touya and Syaoran both sweatdropped.

"Princess, you are hungry, why didn't you tell me?"

"It's… it's… this is embarrassing."

"Oh hell. C'mmon, you better come with me. I'll prepare dinner."

"But…"

"I almost run you down with my bike, it's the least I could do." Touya said, his voice becoming gentler. It was the least he could do after everything that had happened to her. Dinner. How awfully small and pathetic. Maybe he could ask Yue to help them. Yue has to help right? This was still Sakura after all. Right?

He thought about this, watching as Sakura and Syaoran exchanged looks, they seemed to be communicating with their eyes, something that he had seen numerous times before, but this time he could sense a little bit of their distrust and seeing it on his sister's green eyes was too much to bear. He averted his eyes and pretended to wipe the dirt off his bike handle. "Well?" He asked gruffly, impatiently.

"Ok, Touya-sama," Sakura said and Touya cringed again. He could still remember Sakura calling him by his name yesterday. The added –sama was almost just as bad. "We accept your invitation," Sakura continued, "thank you very much."

Well, this Sakura was definitely much more polite. She should be, Touya thought. She is, after all according to the brat, a princess. Although, Touya could barely imagine his little sister as a princess. His Sakura would make a lousy princess. All that yelling and screaming. Touya felt a sharp pang, as he realized that now, more than ever, just how much he missed his Sakura. He glanced at the other Sakura who was looking up at him with her green eyes and he knew, somehow he knew that she could tell exactly what he was feeling.

It was sort of disturbing.

Actually, the whole thing _is_ disturbing.

But whatever. Touya took a deep breath. This Sakura was hungry and if his sister went wandering the streets, hungry and looking for her memory, he'd feel so much better if he knew that someone would take care of her too. He finally nodded his head and proceeded to lead the way towards their house. He stopped when he saw, from the corner of his eyes, the kid following them. "Just you," he said, pointing at Sakura. "Not him."

"I'm coming too." The taller Syaoran said in a calm voice that managed to sound threatening.

Touya raised his eyebrows. Taller Gaki equals bigger pain in the ass. He scowled and glared at Syaoran, who despite the increase in his height still fell a wee bit shorter than him. "You didn't lose your memories, did you?"

Confusion marred the boy's face before he answered with a reluctant, "Well, no."

"Yeah, I didn't think so." Touya said, huffily. "So scram."

"I go where the Princess goes." Syaoran declared, Touya could almost bet he'd stamp his foot to prove a point, but this Syaoran stood tall and proud.

"Yeah, who says so?" Touya countered.

"You did. The King did. I promised the king I'd take care of his sister."

Like a fist in the chest. The day had arrived, Touya thought grimly. I have trusted my sister to the brat. I have handed her over to him. What a lousy brother I am in that other world.

"Alright, fine. Pick those up and follow us."

And Syaoran did as what he was told.

Dinner should be very, very interesting indeed.

-tbc-


End file.
